How is a scatter plot defined?

A scatter plot is defined as a graphical display used to represent the relationship between two quantitative variables. Each point on the scatter plot corresponds to an observation in the dataset, with its position determined by the values of the two variables being compared. This visualization helps in identifying patterns, trends, or correlations between the variables, such as whether an increase in one variable might be associated with an increase or decrease in another.

The other options describe different types of data visualization. A chart showing frequency distributions focuses on how often each value occurs within a dataset, often represented as histograms or bar charts. A diagram illustrating cause and effect relationships typically refers to flowcharts or causal loop diagrams that depict how one variable influences another rather than directly correlating them in a scatter plot. A bar graph comparing multiple groups is used to display and compare the frequency or size of different categories, rather than providing insight into the relationship between two numeric variables like a scatter plot does. Thus, a scatter plot uniquely captures and conveys the nature of relationships between two continuous variables, making option A the correct definition.