2005, Question 3 · 4 points

Train fuel use versus number of railcars

Use a scatterplot, residual plot and regression output to judge a linear model, turn the slope into a cost estimate per added railcar, interpret r squared, and judge extrapolating to 65 railcars.

This exam had six free-response questions, each scored from 0 to 4. Its Question 6, the Investigative Task, is no longer part of the exam. The current exam has 4 free-response questions in 90 minutes. The skills these questions practice still count.

1 Read the question

The question is College Board's, from the 2005 exam. It starts on page 8 of the PDF. College Board no longer posts this exam, so it opens from the copy of College Board's PDF that the Internet Archive saved on March 16, 2026.

Open Question 3 (PDF, page 8)

2 Write your answer

Answer each part the way you would on the exam, in full sentences, with your work shown. Your writing saves as you type.

3 Score it

Score your answer against College Board's scoring guidelines, one point at a time. Give yourself a point only when your answer says what the guideline asks for.

Scoring guidelines (PDF, page 7) What the exam readers saw (Student Performance Q&A)

Question, scoring guidelines and Chief Reader report: College Board, from the Internet Archive. The title, summary are ours.