A punter for a football team is trying to determine the optimal angle for striking the football off his foot—this is called the launch angle. Using video, his coach records a number of punts kicked using different launch angles and the height in feet for each punt. A regression equation for this relationship is Height hat = 2.31 (angle) minus 39.389. A graph titled Residuals versus Launch angle has launch angle (Degrees) on the x-axis, and residual on the y-axis. Points decrease, and then curve up.

Based on the residual plot shown, is a linear model appropriate for using launch angle to predict height?

A linear model is appropriate because the residual plot is curved.
A linear model is appropriate because many of the residuals are close to zero.
A linear model is not appropriate because the residual plot shows a clear pattern.
A linear model is not appropriate because the y-intercept of the regression equation is negative.