Plotting Data
Plotting Data
Graphing
A scatter plot is one way to display data. The plot gives a good visual picture of how two variables might be related. In a scatter plot, ordered pairs are plotted in a coordinate plane but not joined. The resulting pattern indicates the type and strength of the relationship between the two variables. The following plots demonstrate the appearance of positively associated, negatively associated, and non-associated variables respectively:
As with any graph, there are some general rules to follow. Be sure to use a ruler, label the axes including appropriate scales and units, and title the graph. Now plot the data points. Each ordered pair is an (x , y) value. The independent variable (x) will be placed on the horizontal axis while the dependent variable (y) goes on the vertical axis. The dependent variable changes or "depends" on the value of the independent variable.
As with any graph, there are some general rules to follow. Be sure to use a ruler, label the axes including appropriate scales and units, and title the graph. Now plot the data points. Each ordered pair is an (x , y) value. The independent variable (x) will be placed on the horizontal axis while the dependent variable (y) goes on the vertical axis. The dependent variable changes or "depends" on the value of the independent variable.