Linear Regression Calculator
Calculate slope, intercept, correlation coefficient, and R-squared with step-by-step solutions
What is Linear Regression?
Linear regression is a statistical method used to model the relationship between a dependent variable (y) and one or more independent variables (x). It finds the best-fitting straight line through a set of data points and can be used for prediction and understanding relationships between variables.
Linear Regression Equation
The equation for simple linear regression is:
Where:
- y = Dependent variable (predicted value)
- m = Slope (regression coefficient)
- x = Independent variable
- b = Y-intercept
Key Statistics
Slope (m):
m = (nΣxy - ΣxΣy) / (nΣx² - (Σx)²)
Measures the rate of change of y with respect to x
Intercept (b):
b = (Σy - mΣx) / n
The y-value when x = 0
Correlation (r):
r = (nΣxy - ΣxΣy) / √[(nΣx²-(Σx)²)(nΣy²-(Σy)²)]
Measures the strength and direction of the relationship
R-squared (R²):
R² = r²
Proportion of variance explained by the model
How to Use the Calculator
- Enter your x and y data points
- Click "Calculate" to get the regression equation
- View the slope, intercept, correlation, and R-squared
- Use the equation to make predictions
- View the step-by-step solution
Interpreting Results
- Slope (m): Positive = positive relationship, Negative = negative relationship
- Correlation (r): -1 to +1, where |r| > 0.7 indicates strong correlation
- R-squared (R²): 0 to 1, higher values indicate better fit
- Intercept (b): The predicted y-value when x = 0
Example Calculation
Sample Data:
x: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
y: [2, 4, 5, 4, 6]
Calculations:
- Σx = 15, Σy = 21, Σxy = 73, Σx² = 55, Σy² = 97
- n = 5
- Slope = (5×73 - 15×21) / (5×55 - 15²) = 0.8
- Intercept = (21 - 0.8×15) / 5 = 1.8
- Equation: y = 0.8x + 1.8
Assumptions for Linear Regression
- Linear relationship between variables
- Independent observations
- Normally distributed residuals
- Homoscedasticity (constant variance)
- No multicollinearity (for multiple regression)
Applications
- Prediction: Forecasting future values
- Trend Analysis: Understanding relationships between variables
- Quality Control: Monitoring process performance
- Market Research: Analyzing customer behavior
- Scientific Research: Testing hypotheses about relationships