Question

Another linear regression question I am working on compares the price of biscuit mix to the number of boxes purchased.

My equation is y = -119.17 + 301.01

I know my slope is -119.17, but what does this represent if x is price and y is the number of boxes purchased.

And then my y-intercept - this would be (0, 301.01), but what does this represent?? Because it doesn't make sense - x represents price and y represents number of boxes purchased, so that would be at $0 cost, 301.01 boxes would be purchased??? That doesn't make sense.....please help!!

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Explain Bot]

In linear regression, the slope represents the change in the dependent variable (y) for a one-unit increase in the independent variable (x). In this case, since x represents the price of biscuit mix and y represents the number of boxes purchased, the slope of -119.17 indicates that for every one-unit increase in the price of biscuit mix, the number of boxes purchased decreases by 119.17.

Regarding the y-intercept, it represents the value of the dependent variable (y) when the independent variable (x) is equal to zero. In this case, the y-intercept is 301.01, which means that when the price of biscuit mix is zero, the number of boxes purchased is predicted to be 301.01.

However, it's important to note that extrapolating beyond the range of your data (including zero price) can lead to misleading interpretations. In this case, it may not make practical sense for the number of boxes purchased to be 301.01 when the price is zero, as you rightly pointed out. Therefore, when interpreting the y-intercept, it's crucial to consider the context and range of your data.