Regression analysis facts for kids

Regression analysis is a way to find out how different things are connected. Imagine you have some information, like how much a plant grows each day and how much sunlight it gets. Regression analysis helps you see if there's a pattern between the sunlight and the plant's growth.

It's like drawing a line or a curve through a bunch of dots on a graph. Each dot could be a plant's growth on a certain day. The line helps you guess what might happen next, or understand why things are happening. For example, it could help predict how tall a plant will be if it gets a certain amount of sunlight.

This method is used in many areas, like predicting weather, understanding how prices change, or even seeing how well a new medicine works. It helps people make smart guesses and decisions based on data.

How Regression Analysis Started

The idea of regression analysis is quite old! The first type was called linear regression. This means finding a straight line that best fits the data.

Two famous mathematicians, Adrien-Marie Legendre and Carl Friedrich Gauss, came up with a method called "least squares." Legendre published his work in 1805, and Gauss followed in 1809. They both used this method to predict how planets move around the sun. Gauss later improved the method in 1821.

So, this powerful tool, which helps us understand patterns in data today, was first used to explore the mysteries of space!

Related pages

• Correlation

Images for kids

• 

  This picture shows a regression line drawn through many random points. It helps us see the general trend of the data.

• 

  Here, the straight line in the middle is like the "best fit" line. It balances the points above and below it. The other lines show how much the data might vary.

See also

In Spanish: Análisis de la regresión para niños