AP Statistics
5A–5B Day 1 Free Response
Shared by ashtont · Oct 20, 2026 · 0 plays
20 AP Statistics free-response prompts for 5A (scatterplots, describing relationships, correlation r) and 5B Day 1 (regression lines, slope/intercept, prediction, residuals, extrapolation). Each has an AP-style rubric and model answer. Built to play as a whiteboard live game.
20 questions across 2 sections. Write your answer, then check it against the rubric and score yourself.
Sample questions
Open an item to see its answer.
A researcher records the number of hours 25 teenagers spend on social media per day and each teen's GPA, to see whether social media use helps explain GPA. Identify the explanatory variable and the response variable.
Sample answer: The explanatory variable is the number of hours a teen spends on social media per day. The response variable is the teen's GPA.
A scatterplot of weight (pounds) and gas mileage (mpg) for 30 cars shows points falling from upper left to lower right in a fairly tight band that looks roughly linear. One 2,000-pound car gets only 18 mpg, far below the other light cars. Describe the relationship.
Sample answer: There is a fairly strong, negative, roughly linear relationship between weight and gas mileage for these 30 cars. One car is an outlier: it weighs only 2,000 pounds but gets 18 mpg, much lower than the pattern predicts.
For 40 students, the correlation between arm span (inches) and height (inches) is r = 0.83. Interpret this value.
Sample answer: r = 0.83 indicates a strong, positive linear association between arm span and height for these 40 students.
One study finds r = −0.91 between two variables. Another finds r = 0.75. A student says the second relationship is stronger because 0.75 is bigger than −0.91. Is the student right? Explain.
Sample answer: No. Strength is based on how close r is to ±1, so we compare |−0.91| = 0.91 with 0.75. The first relationship is the stronger linear one; the negative sign only means its direction is negative.
The correlation between height and weight for a group of adults is r = 0.68, with height in inches and weight in pounds. If height is converted to centimeters and weight to kilograms, what is the new correlation? Explain.
Sample answer: It is still r = 0.68. Correlation is calculated from standardized values (z-scores), so it has no units and changing the units of either variable does not change it.