Determining the best polynomial function to use when modeling data :

1. Make a scatter plot of the given data.

2. Use the scatter plot to determine which degree polynomial most resembles the data.

3. Find the regression equation for the polynomial and compare the absolute value of its correlation coefficient to 1.

4. Graph this equation on the same screen as the scatter plot to confirm their similarity.

5. If the model does not fit the data or the absolute value of the correlation coefficient is not close to 1.

6. Correlation coefficients for other polynomials can be found to see if there is a better fit.