Causal Relationships Regents Questions

Which relationship can best be described as causal?

• height and intelligence

• shoe size and running speed

• number of correct answers on a test and test score

• number of students in a class and number of students with brown hair

Which situation does not describe a causal relationship?

• The higher the volume on a radio, the louder the sound will be.

• The faster a student types a research paper, the more pages the paper will have.

• The shorter the distance driven, the less gasoline that will be used.

• The slower the pace of a runner, the longer it will take the runner to finish the race.

Which relationship can best be described as causal?

• The alarm goes off and the sun rises.

• The car is moving slowly and the driver is singing.

• The snow is falling and the stores run out of snow shovels.

• The birds are chirping and the rain is coming down.

Which correlation shows a causal relationship?

• The more minutes an athlete is on the playing field, the more goals he scores.

• The more gasoline that you purchase at the pump, the more you pay.

• The longer a shopper stays at the mall, the more purchases she makes.

• As the price of a gift increases, the size of the gift box increases.

Which phrase best describes the relationship between the number of miles driven and the amount of gasoline used?

• causal, but not correlated

• correlated, but not causal

• both correlated and causal

• neither correlated nor causal

A study showed that a decrease in the cost of carrots led to an increase in the number of carrots sold. Which statement best describes this relationship?

• positive correlation and a causal relationship

• negative correlation and a causal relationship

• positive correlation and not a causal relationship

• negative correlation and not a causal relationship

What type of relationship exists between the number of pages printed on a printer and the amount of ink used by that printer?

• positive correlation, but not causal

• positive correlation, and causal

• negative correlation, but not causal

• negative correlation, and causal

The data obtained from a random sample of track athletes showed that as the foot size of the athlete decreased, the average running speed decreased. Which statement is best supported by the data?

• Smaller foot sizes cause track athletes to run slower.

• The sample of track athletes shows a causal relationship between foot size and running speed.

• The sample of track athletes shows a correlation between foot size and running speed.

• There is no correlation between foot size and running speed in track athletes.

Which situation describes a correlation that is not a causal relationship?

• The rooster crows, and the Sun rises.

• The more miles driven, the more gasoline needed.

• The more powerful the microwave, the faster the food cooks.

• The faster the pace of a runner, the quicker the runner finishes.

Which situation describes a correlation that is not a causal relationship?

• The number of miles walked and the total Calories burned

• The population of a country and the census taken every ten years

• The number of hours a TV is on and the amount of electricity used

• The speed of a car and the number of hours it takes to travel a given distance