The sample correlation coefficient
The number of Wildland fires (in thousands) and wildland acres burned (in
millions) in the US for eight years is in the table below,
Fires (x) 84.1 73.5 63.6 65.5 66.8 96.4 85.7 79.0
Acres (y) 3.6 7.2 4.0 8.1 8.7 9.9 9.3 5.3
a. Calculate the sample correlation coefficient, r. Round to the nearest 1000th.
b. Describe the type of correlation coefficient and interpret the correlation in the context of the data.