A researcher is investigating the relationship between the intensity of light, y y\,y lux, and the distance, x x\,x m, from a laser source.
She finds that the plot of log10y\log_{10} ylog10y against log10x\log_{10} xlog10x is a straight line passing through the points (1, 7)(1,\ 7)(1, 7) and (4, 1)(4,\ 1)(4, 1).
Determine an equation linking log10y\log_{10} ylog10y with log10x\log_{10} xlog10x.
Hence express y y\,y in the form pxqpx^{q}pxq, where p p\,p and q q\,q are constants to be found.
The researcher claims that the intensity of the light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. Explain how your answer to part (b) supports this claim.
244 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Maths 2.2 L: Data presentation and interpretation, covering 2.2.1 Single-variable data diagrams, 2.2.2 Scatter diagrams and correlation, 2.2.3 Central tendency, variation and standard deviation, 2.2.4 Outliers and cleaning data, and 2.2 L: Data presentation and interpretation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.