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Week-9 LAS 3
Week-9 LAS 3
Marginal change is the magnitude of the change in one variable when the other variable changes
exactly one unit. In scientific research, the purpose of a regression model is to understand the
relationship between predictors (x) and the response ( y ). If so, and x if never = 0, there is no interest
in the intercept. It does not tell you anything about the relationship between x and y . In market
research, there is usually more interest in prediction, so the intercept is more important here.
Illustrative Example 1:
Student A B C D E F
No. of Study Hours ( x) 2 3 5 9 11 15
Final Grade in Math ( y ) 79 83 85 88 89 93
In the problem with the data above, the value of the slope b , which is 0.945, is the marginal
change. This means that for every change in the value of x , which is the number of study hours, the
value of y which is the grade also changes at 0.945 unit on the average. Similarly, the value of the y–
intercept a is 79.078. This means that the grade of a student would be 79.078 if he/she has zero
hours of study.
Illustrative Example 2:
The equation of the regression line from an
Chemistry Grade y Intelligence Test Scores (x) and Freshman
Chemistry Grades ( y ) as shown in the scatter plot
is given by ^y =30.056 +0.897 x .
This means that for every point change in the
^y =30.056 +0.897 x
Intelligence Test, the Chemistry grade also changes
at 0.897 points average.
Intelligence Test Scores x