Association vs Causation Qs

Which of the following is an example of causation?

• Sara gets a full 8 hours of sleep, then makes a high grade on her math test the next morning.

• Sergio spends less time reading his book, so he reads fewer pages.

• The more bags of groceries Larissa carries to the car, the heavier the load is.

Which of the following is an example of association?

• Sara gets a full 8 hours of sleep, then makes a high grade on her math test the next morning.

• Sergio spends less time reading his book, so he reads fewer pages.

• The more bags of groceries Larissa carries to the car, the heavier the load is.

Which of the following statements shows a correlation but not causation?

• A) Sara gets a full 8 hours of sleep, then makes a high grade on her math test the next morning.

• B) Sergio spends less time reading his book, so he reads fewer pages.

• C) The more bags of groceries Larissa carries to the car, the heavier the load is.

Which situation shows causation?

• When the number of people in a bus increases, the number of animals in a zoo also increases.

• When the number of hours worked each week by an hourly employee decreases, the amount of money earned by the employee also decreases.

• When the amount of a discount for a sale increases, the number of items sold during the sale decreases.

• When the number of bike trails in a city decreases, the amount of rainfall in the city increases.

Which situation best represents association but NOT causation?

• When the number of spectators at a football game increases, the number of wins for the home team increases.

• When more gallons of water are put into an aquarium, the weight of the aquarium increases.

• When the amount of time an athlete runs increases, the distance she runs increases.

• When the charge of a cell phone battery increases, the number of minutes the phone can be used increases.

Which situation best shows causation?

• The length of a rectangle affects the width of the rectangle.

• The amount of time a cell phone is used affects the charge of its battery.

• The number of ice-cream bars sold affects the number of milkshakes sold.

• The number of soccer balls a team owns affects the number of games the team wins during the soccer season.

Which situation does NOT show causation?

• When the student population at a school increases, the number of teachers at the school increases.

• When the amount of sugar in a quart of apple juice is reduced, there are fewer calories in each serving.

• When there are more workers on a project, the project is completed in less time.

• When there is more protein in an athlete’s diet, the athlete scores more points in a game.

Which situation best represents causation?

• When the number of bus stops increases, the number of car sales decreases.

• When fewer firefighters report to a house fire, the damage caused by the fire decreases.

• When ice cream sales increase, incidents of sunburn increase.

• When it rains several inches, the water level of a lake increases.