A line of best fit should go through the middle of the plotted data points.?

Question

true or false???

Answer 1

sort of true.

You can eyeball it and just draw the line, but it won't necessairly be the best fit. for that you need lots of math.

Answer 2

True.  The norm is for the line of best fit to go through the middle of all plotted data points.

Personally, I feel the line of best fit should go through as many data points as possible.

This means if you have 5 data points and 4 are inline, I'd draw the line through the 4.  I'd do the same for 3 of 5.  This method highlights the plotted points not on the straight line as possible errors.  Usually, it is easy to find and correct these errors, especially if it is a plotting error.

It is only when only 2 of 5 are inline would I go through  the middle of the plotted data points.

So I feel that this method is more important because it helps learning.