What is the equation of the line of best fit for the following data? Round the slope and [tex]$y$[/tex]-intercept to three decimal places.

[tex]\[
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
$x$ & $y$ \\
\hline
4 & 3 \\
\hline
6 & 4 \\
\hline
8 & 9 \\
\hline
11 & 12 \\
\hline
13 & 17 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\][/tex]

A. [tex]\( y = -1.560x + 4.105 \)[/tex]

B. [tex]\( y = -4.105x + 1.560 \)[/tex]

C. [tex]\( y = 1.560x - 4.105 \)[/tex]

D. [tex]\( y = 4.105x - 1.560 \)[/tex]



Answer :

To find the equation of the line of best fit for the given data, we'll use a linear regression method. Here is the step-by-step solution:

1. Gather the Data Points:
[tex]\[ (4, 3), (6, 4), (8, 9), (11, 12), (13, 17) \][/tex]

2. Determine the General Form of the Line of Best Fit Equation:
The equation of the line of best fit is generally written as:
[tex]\[ y = mx + b \][/tex]
where [tex]\( m \)[/tex] is the slope and [tex]\( b \)[/tex] is the y-intercept.

3. Calculate the Slope (m) and Y-Intercept (b):
For these calculations, techniques from linear algebra or statistical methods are typically used to minimize the sum of squared differences between the observed values [tex]\( y \)[/tex] and the values predicted by the linear model.

4. Provide the Solution:
The slope (m) and y-intercept (b) have been found to be:
[tex]\[ m = 1.560 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ b = -4.105 \][/tex]

5. Form the Equation:
Substitute [tex]\( m \)[/tex] and [tex]\( b \)[/tex] into the general form of the linear equation:
[tex]\[ y = 1.560x - 4.105 \][/tex]

6. Round the Values:
Both the slope and y-intercept have already been rounded to three decimal places.

Therefore, the equation of the line of best fit is:
[tex]\[ y = 1.560x - 4.105 \][/tex]

Given the multiple-choice options:

A. [tex]\( y = -1.560x + 4.105 \)[/tex]

B. [tex]\( y = -4.105x + 1.560 \)[/tex]

C. [tex]\( y = 1.560x - 4.105 \)[/tex]

D. [tex]\( y = 4.105x - 1.560 \)[/tex]

The correct option is:
[tex]\[ \boxed{C} \][/tex]