Which type of plot would BEST represent the following data:

A sports analyst examines the relationship between team salary ($ millions) and team performance (number of wins in a 162-game season) using a recent year’s data on the 30 teams in Major League Baseball.

Scatterplot

Question

Which type of plot would BEST represent the following data:

A sports analyst examines the relationship between team salary ($ millions) and team performance (number of wins in a 162-game season) using a recent year’s data on the 30 teams in Major League Baseball.

Scatterplot

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks which plot best represents the relationship between two quantitative variables: team salary (in millions of dollars) and team performance (wins). 
First, recognizing that we want to examine how one continuous variable relates to another continuous variable is key; scatterplots are the standard choice for visualizing such relationships because each team is a point defined by its salary (x-axis) and its number of wins (y-axis).
Second, consider what other plot types do not suit this purpose: bar charts, histograms, or pie charts are better for categorical comparisons, distributions, or parts-of-a-whole, rather than illustrating a potential correlation or pattern between two numeric measures. A line plot could show trends over time, but here we’re looking across teams in a single season, not a temporal sequence, so a line is less informative.
Third, the data setup—30 teams with paired quantitative values—fits the scatterplot framework well, as it allows us to detect patterns such as positive or negative association, clusters, or outliers, and to assess the strength of any relationship.
Fourth, with only one option provided in the prompt, there are no alternative choices to contrast; however, the reasoning remains: scatterplots are the most appropriate visualization when the goal is to explore the relationship between two continuous variables across multiple observations.
In summary, given two numeric variables and the aim to explore their relationship across many observations (teams), the scatterplot emerges as the natural and effective visualization choice.

COMM_V 191 201 202 203 204 2024W2 2024W2 COMM 191 Midterm - Friday, March 7, 2025

Which type of plot would BEST represent the following data: A sports analyst examines the relationship between team salary ($ millions) and team performance (number of wins in a 162-game season) using a recent year’s data on the 30 teams in Major League Baseball. Scatterplot

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