A model of the form is used to approximate the data points and

MATHEMATICS · Subjective · AP · AP Statistics · Exploring Two-Variable Data · Exploring Two-Variable Data

Problem

A model of the form

y=ax

is used to approximate the data points

(1,3)

and

(2,5)

. The total error is defined as

S(a)= (3- a\thinspace\bigl(1\bigr))^{2} + (5- a\thinspace\bigl(2\bigr))^{2}

. Determine the value of

a

that minimizes

S(a)