How to Find the Residual in Math

In statistics, a residual is defined as the difference between an observed value and a predicted value. Regression analysis is an attempt to fit a set of data to a line in the form of y = mx + b. However, this straight line cannot typically account for all of the data points, and an error, e, is added to the equation to account for this, making the true equation y = mx + b + e. The e is a measurement of the residual and takes on a different value for each value of x.

Things You'll Need

  • Sample intercept
  • Sample slope
  • Observed value from data set
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Instructions

  1. Instructions

    • 1

      Create your regression line in the form of y = mx + b + e, where m is your sample slope and b is your sample intercept. e, is the residual we will solve for.

      Sample intercept: 437.4

      Sample slope: 5.47

      y = 5.47x + 437.4 + e

    • 2

      Plug your observed values for x and y into the equation.

      Observed x = 16

      Observed y = 557.02

      557.02 = 5.47(16) + 437.4 + e

    • 3

      Solve for your residual, e.

      557.02 = 5.47(16) + 437.4 + e

      557.02 = 87.52 + 437.4 + e

      557.02 = 524.92 + e

      e = 32.1

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