Regression Project

By Sophie Beasley
Period 5

For my project, I decided to compare the weight of various cars to their miles per

gallon (mpg). I believe these variables are related because if a car weighs more it

probably needs more gas than a small car to move a specific distance. I think the

correlation will be a strong, negative, linear correlation: as the weight of the car goes up,

the miles per gallon will go down.

This data could be used by car companies and people who design cars to make

a car that goes a long distance on a small amount of gas and doesn’t harm the

environment as much as huge, gas guzzling cars. They could design the car to be

smaller or be made out of lightweight materials so that the mph is higher. Likewise, this

data can also be useful for people who want to buy a car that has a lower gas mileage.
 The graph above shows how weight and mpg are related. I found my data for this

graph on wired.com. It showed the weight of many different cars and the corresponding

highway mpg, city mpg, and combined mpg. For my project I used the weight and the

combined mpg of the cars listed. My regression equation is y=-0.01773x+48.622. The

R​2​ value was 0.516. The data showed a linear function, which makes sense. As the

weight increased, the miles per gallon decreased; therefore, my conjecture was

accurate. The graph turned out as a negative linear regression. The heaviest cars, such

as the Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Ford Fusion, and the Volkswagen GTI, all had an mpg at

around 20-24. The lightest cars, such as the Hyundai Elantra, and Pontiac G3 Wave,

had an mpg of around 27-29. So, the difference between the weight of the cars and

mpg shows a pretty strong correlation.

However, there are some possible confounding variables. The size of the engine

probably influences how much gas a car uses. Larger engines are likely to use more

gas than smaller engines and larger cars need larger engines. Additionally, a larger

engine contributes to the car’s weight, which in turn affects the mpg. Another variable

that could affect the correlation is the wind. A larger car tends to catch more wind than a

small car. Also, more gas would be used if the car is going against a very strong wind.

Finally, it is harder for a large car to start moving because it needs more energy to pull

all its weight, so it will need more gas. Small cars start moving after standing still a lot

quicker than larger cars because they weigh less and they will use less gas.

In conclusion, this data can help car buyers make informed decisions on what car

they want to buy if they want a fuel-efficient car, because the data shows that the
heavier the car, the lower the mpg. So, by looking at the weight, they can see which

cars would use less gas and help them save money, because gas costs a lot of money.

Car designers and manufacturers could use the data to design these more fuel efficient

cars.
Works Cited

Allain, Rhett. "Fuel Economy Versus Mass." ​Wired.com.​ Conde Nast Digital. 8 Oct.

2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

"Learn the Facts: Weight Affects Fuel Consumption." ​Nrcan.gc.ca.​ Government of

Canada, 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.