Graphing The Data: Lizard Offspring Number Versus Offspring Mass

The common lizard (Lacerta vivipara) can produce 2 to 15 offspring in a single breeding event. Using the following data, use a scatter graph to illustrate the relationship between the number of lizard offspring and the average mass of a lizard’s offspring. (You can review scatterplots in the graphing appendix.) After graphing the relationship, describe the relationship in words.

OFFSPRING NUMBER OFFSPRING MASS (g)
2 242
3 238
4 230
5 223
6 207
7 200
8 189
9 180
10 173
11 157
12 150
13 142
14 138
15 130

Lizards that produce a larger number of eggs do so by producing smaller eggs.