In a scatterplot, what does a positive correlation look like?

• A. As One Variable Increases, The Other Tends To Increase.
• B. Points Form a Perfect Line.
• C. No Pattern.
• D. As One Variable Increases, The Other Tends To Decrease.

Answer: (A)

On a scatterplot, a positive correlation means the two variables move together in the same direction: as one increases, the other tends to increase as well. Visually, the points show an upward trend, sloping from lower-left to upper-right. It doesn’t have to be a perfect line—the data can scatter around a rising pattern—but the overall direction is upward, indicating a positive relationship.

If there’s no pattern, the variables don’t show a consistent relationship. If one variable increases while the other decreases, that’s a negative correlation. A perfect line would be an ideal, strongest form of correlation, but real data often show a strong positive trend without a perfect line.