Week 3 Signature Assignment: Regression Lines

Review the instructional video on how to use regression in Microsoft® Excel® (if you have forgotten from Week 2).

Input your data into Microsoft® Excel® (data and years).

Create a scatter plot.

Insert a polynomial trendline with degree of 2. Make sure to show the equation and the R-square value. Also make sure you label each axis and give a title to your graph. Then repeat this process for a linear trendline in a new Microsoft® Excel® worksheet.

Answer the following questions in 175 to 260 words in the same Microsoft® Excel® worksheet as the graph:

• Which of the trendlines fits the data better? How can you tell?
• Compare and contrast the shape of the linear regression trendline with the shape of the quadratic.
• Which do you think will eventually grow faster?  Thinking about the type of data you have, do you think your data will grow quickly over time? 
• Which (lines or quadratics) has a minimum or maximum value? Thinking about the type of data you have, do you think your data has a minimum or maximum?

Save your Microsoft® Excel® file, including the graphic and your commentary. Make sure you do not delete your files, as you will need them in subsequent weeks. Your assignment will be graded with the Week 3 Grading Guide.