Identify and communicate possible non-causal explanations for an association, including coincidence or the influence of another variable.

A health researcher observes a strong positive association between ice cream sales (in thousands of dollars) and the number of drowning incidents recorded at public pools in a city over a 12-month period. (a) Define confounding variable. (b) Identify one confounding variable that could explain this association. (c) Explain why the variable you identified in part (b) is a confounding variable in this situation.

A researcher observes a strong positive association between the number of swimming pool drownings and the amount of ice-cream sold each month across a seaside town over one year. Which explanation best accounts for this association without implying that ice-cream sales cause drownings?