AS/A2 Stats 2 Stats 3

S1 Topic 4: Correlation and regression
Least squares
Change the positions of the 8 points. Now move the red line and try to make the total yellow area as small as possible. This is not easy to judge! If you can manage it, the resulting line is called the y on x regression line The heights of the squares are called the residuals. The x values are referred to as the explanatory (or independent) variables and the y values as the response (or dependent) variables.

Please enable Java for an interactive construction (with Cinderella).

Summary The least squares regression line: minimises the total of the squares of the residuals Uses Cinderella interactive geometry.