A study showed a correlation between the number of umbrellas sold at a local store and the number of days of inside recess at the nearest school.

Question

Which lurking variable would explain the correlation between the number of umbrellas sold and the number of days of inside recess?

Answer options with 5 options
A.
the size of the gym at the school

B.
the amount of rainfall in the town

C.
the price of umbrellas at the store

D.
the number of people wearing rain jackets

E.
the distance between the school and the store

Answer 1

The lurking variable that would explain the correlation between the number of umbrellas sold and the number of days of inside recess is:

B. the amount of rainfall in the town

The reasoning is that both the increase in inside recess days (likely due to rain) and the sales of umbrellas are influenced by the amount of rainfall. Thus, it serves as a common cause of both variables.