Which value of r indicates a stronger correlation than +0.40 0.38 -0.30 -0.80 0 Which value of r indicates a stronger correlation than +0.40 0.38 -0.30 -0.80 0
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The value of r = -0.80 indicates a stronger correlation than +0.40.
Explanation:
The correlation coefficient (r) measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. It ranges from -1 to +1, where:
- +1 represents a perfect positive correlation.
- -1 represents a perfect negative correlation.
- 0 means no correlation.
Comparing the Given r Values:
We are given the following values: +0.40, 0.38, -0.30, -0.80, and 0.
- +0.40 – A moderate positive correlation.
- 0.38 – Slightly weaker than +0.40.
- -0.30 – A weak negative correlation.
- -0.80 – A strong negative correlation.
- 0 – No correlation.
Even though -0.80 is negative, its absolute value (|r|) is 0.80, which is greater than 0.40. Correlation strength is based on the absolute value of r, not its sign.
Why is -0.80 Stronger than +0.40?
- Strength of Correlation: The closer the absolute value of r is to 1, the stronger the correlation. |-0.80| = 0.80, which is much stronger than |0.40| = 0.40.
- Interpretation: A correlation of -0.80 means that as one variable increases, the other strongly decreases, whereas a correlation of +0.40 suggests only a moderate increase in one variable as the other increases.
Thus, -0.80 represents the strongest correlation among the given values.