Inspection of the Following Table of T Values for Variables

Multiple Choice

Inspection of the following table of t values for variables in a multiple regression analysis reveals that the first independent variable entered by the forward selection procedure will be ___________. $$\begin{array} { | l | r | r | r | r | r | r | } \hline & y & x _ { 1 } & x _ { 2 } & x _ { 3 } & x _ { 4 } & x _ { 5 } \\\hline y & 1 & & & & & \\\hline x _ { 1 } & - 0.1661 & 1 & & & & \\\hline x _ { 2 } & 0.231849 & - 0.51728 & 1 & & & \\\hline x _ { 3 } & 0.423522 & - 0.22264 & - 0.00734 & 1 & & \\\hline x _ { 4 } & - 0.33227 & 0.028957 & - 0.49869 & 0.260586 & 1 & \\\hline x _ { 5 } & 0.199796 & - 0.20467 & 0.078916 & 0.207477 & 0.023839 & 1 \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) x₂
B) x₃
C) x₄
D) x₅
E) x₁