A study finds r = 0.82 between ice-cream sales and drowning incidents across summer days.
What is the most appropriate conclusion?
- A
Eating ice cream causes drowning
- Bcheck_circle
Correlation does not imply causation; a lurking variable (heat) likely explains both
- C
Drowning causes ice-cream sales
- D
The correlation must be a calculation error
Explanation
A strong correlation can arise from a confounding variable such as hot weather. Causation cannot be inferred from observational data.