A television sports commentator recently declared that basketball teams that rely on the three-point shot cannot win championships. To see if the commentator had a valid point, a sports analyst reviewed game statistics from several teams over the past season.

For each of the teams, the analyst calculated what percentage of attempted field goals had been three-pointers, x, and the number of wins in the season, y.
Percentage of shots taken from three-point range Number of wins in a season
22 22
26 36
28 40
29 46
30 47
Round your answers to the nearest thousandth.
y=
x+

1 answer

To analyze the relationship between the percentage of three-point shots attempted (x) and the number of wins (y), we can use linear regression to find the equation of the line that best fits the data. Given the data points, we can find the slope (b) and the y-intercept (a) for the line in the form:

\[ y = bx + a \]

Data Points

  • (22, 22)
  • (26, 36)
  • (28, 40)
  • (29, 46)
  • (30, 47)

Step 1: Calculate the Means

Calculate the mean of x and y:

\[ \bar{x} = \frac{22 + 26 + 28 + 29 + 30}{5} = \frac{135}{5} = 27 \] \[ \bar{y} = \frac{22 + 36 + 40 + 46 + 47}{5} = \frac{191}{5} = 38.2 \]

Step 2: Calculate the Slope (b)

Using the formula for the slope \( b \):

\[ b = \frac{\sum (x_i - \bar{x})(y_i - \bar{y})}{\sum (x_i - \bar{x})^2} \]

Calculate \( \sum (x_i - \bar{x})(y_i - \bar{y}) \)

| \( x \) | \( y \) | \( x - \bar{x} \) | \( y - \bar{y} \) | \( (x - \bar{x})(y - \bar{y}) \) | |---------|---------|--------------------|--------------------|---------------------------------| | 22 | 22 | -5 | -16.2 | 81.0 | | 26 | 36 | -1 | -2.2 | 2.2 | | 28 | 40 | 1 | 1.8 | 1.8 | | 29 | 46 | 2 | 7.8 | 15.6 | | 30 | 47 | 3 | 8.8 | 26.4 |

\[ \sum (x_i - \bar{x})(y_i - \bar{y}) = 81.0 + 2.2 + 1.8 + 15.6 + 26.4 = 126.0 \]

Calculate \( \sum (x_i - \bar{x})^2 \)

| \( x \) | \( x - \bar{x} \) | \( (x - \bar{x})^2 \) | |---------|--------------------|------------------------| | 22 | -5 | 25 | | 26 | -1 | 1 | | 28 | 1 | 1 | | 29 | 2 | 4 | | 30 | 3 | 9 |

\[ \sum (x_i - \bar{x})^2 = 25 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 9 = 40 \]

Step 3: Calculate \( b \)

\[ b = \frac{126.0}{40} = 3.15 \]

Step 4: Calculate the Intercept (a)

Using the formula for the y-intercept \( a \):

\[ a = \bar{y} - b\bar{x} \] \[ a = 38.2 - (3.15 \times 27) = 38.2 - 85.05 = -46.85 \]

Final Equation

Thus, the equation of the line is:

\[ y = 3.15x - 46.85 \]

Answer

Rounding to the nearest thousandth:

\[ y = 3.150x - 46.850 \]