Born to be old? Is there a relationship between the gestational period (time from conception to birth) of an animal and its average life span? Figure 4.15 is a scatterplot of the gestational period and average life span for 43 species of animals.

(a) Describe the direction, form, and strength of the scatterplot.

(b) Th ree “unusual” points are labeled in Figure 4.15: Point A is for the hippopotamus, Point B is for the giraff

e, and Point C is for the Asian elephant. In what way is each of these animals “unusual”?

(c) If you were to add a point for humans to the plot, would it be part of the general pattern, or would it be an unusual point? Explain.