1. **Problem Statement:** Determine how many students had an overall academic grade below 84 based on the scatter plot showing the relationship between the number of absences and overall academic grades. 2. **Understanding the Graph:** The Y-axis shows academic grades from 70 to 100, and the X-axis shows absences from 0 to 10. Each point represents a student. 3. **Step 1: Identify the grade threshold:** We are interested in students with grades below 84. On the Y-axis, 84 lies between 82 and 84 marks. 4. **Step 2: Count points below 84:** From the graph description, points below the horizontal line at 84 represent students with grades less than 84. 5. **Step 3: Estimate the number of points below 84:** The graph shows a descending trend from top-left to bottom-right. By counting or estimating, approximately 7 students have grades below 84. 6. **Step 4: Explanation for correctness:** The answer is based on visual inspection of the scatter plot where each dot below the 84 mark on the Y-axis corresponds to a student with a grade below 84. 7. **Step 5: Interpretation of data:** The correct interpretation is that as the number of absences increases, the overall academic grade decreases, which matches option (c). **Final answers:** - Number of students with grades below 84: **7** - Reason: Points below 84 on the Y-axis represent these students. - Correct interpretation: **(c) As the number of absences increases, the overall academic grade decreases.**