1. The problem asks to determine the trend shown by a scatter plot where points generally decrease as $x$ increases. 2. A positive trend means $y$ increases as $x$ increases. 3. A negative trend means $y$ decreases as $x$ increases. 4. No trend means no clear pattern of increase or decrease. 5. Since the points generally decrease as $x$ increases, this indicates a negative trend. 6. Therefore, the scatter plot shows a negative trend.