Chapter 4, Problem 29SE

Salaries of College Graduates (Example 3) The scatterplot shows the median starting salaries and the median mid-career salaries for graduates at a selection of colleges. (Source: The Wall Street Journal, Salary increase by salary type, http://online.wsj.com/ public/resources/documents/info-Salaries_for_Colleges_by_Type-sort.html. Accessed via StatCrunch. Owner: Webster West)

a. As the data are graphed, which is the independent and which the dependent variable?

b. Why do you suppose median salary at a school is used instead of the mean?

c. Using the graph, estimate the median mid-career salary for a median starting salary of $\text{\$}60,000$.

d. Use the equation to predict the median mid-career salary for a median starting salary of $\text{\$}60,000$.

e. What other factors besides starting salary might influence mid-career salary?