A linear relationship refers to a consistent change in both variables such that when one variable increases by a certain amount, so does (positive relationship) or decreases by an equal amount (negative relationship) for another variable.
Imagine you have two friends who always go running together. If they consistently run at exactly twice their usual speed, then there is a linear relationship between their speeds - for every increase in one friend's speed by 1 mph, there will be an increase of 2 mph for their running partner.
Positive Linear Relationship: In this type of relationship, as one variable increases, the other variable also increases in a consistent manner.
Negative Linear Relationship: In this type of relationship, as one variable increases, the other variable decreases in a consistent manner.
Nonlinear Relationship: A nonlinear relationship is any relationship between variables that does not follow a straight line. It can have curves or bends and can take various shapes on a scatterplot.
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.