Think of two things, both influenced by an outside factor, that could appear to be related.
See solution.
Practice makes perfect
Examples of data with a strong correlation but without a causal relationship are often discussed in the statistics world because
Correlation does not imply causation!
For example consider the following fact.
Ice cream sales can predict drowning rates.
It's true. The more ice cream that is sold in an area, the higher the rate of drownings. There is a strong correlation between the two variables. But does one cause the other?
Does eating ice cream cause people to drown?
The truth is that there are underlying factors that come into play. More ice cream is purchased in the summer because it is hot outside. More people swim in the summer.
Both ice cream sales and drownings increase during summer.
As such, there is a strong positive correlation between ice cream sales but no causal relationship between them.
