Zinc in aquatic plants and lake sediment

Use this page to explain that the least squares intercept and slope b0 and b1 are point estimates of β0 and β1 but that they are random quantities that vary from sample to sample.

The initial display shows the least squares estimates for a real data set. Select Randomness of least squares estimates from the pop-up menu at the top then click Take sample several times to show how b0 and b1 are not equal to β0 and β1 but vary.

The data set contains zinc concentrations in the aquatic plant Eriocaulon septangulare (micrograms per gram dry weight) and zinc concentrations in sediment (micrograms per gram) from several lakes in Ontario.