Draw a scatter plot
Plot paired data as dots so you can see whether a pattern is there.
A scatter plot puts each (x, y) pair on a graph as a dot. It is the first thing to do before fitting a line or curve, because your eyes can spot a pattern, or an odd point, straight away.
The example uses x = 1 to 5 and y = 2, 4, 5, 4, 5.
Classic Graphing 84
Start on the main screen: Press 2nd then mode (QUIT) to get back to the home screen. Pressing clear on a menu also backs out of it.
Type x into L1 and y into L2.
stat11enter2enter3enter4enter5enter▶2enter4enter5enter4enter5enterOpen STAT PLOTS with 2nd then y=, choose Plot1, and move left to On, then press enter. The type is already Scatter.
2ndSTAT PLOTy=1◀enterPress zoom then 9 (ZoomStat) to fit the window to your data. The dots appear.
zoom9To check the setup, open STAT PLOTS again. Plot1 now says On.
2ndSTAT PLOTy=
You should seeFive dots appear on the graph screen, and the STAT PLOTS menu shows Plot1 turned On.
Natural Color Graphing
Start on the main screen: Press MENU then 1 to open Run-Matrix, the main calculation screen. Press EXIT to back out of a bar or screen, and SHIFT then EXIT (QUIT) to return to the app start.
Type x into List 1 and y into List 2.
MENU21EXE2EXE3EXE4EXE5EXE▲▲▲▲▲▶2EXE4EXE5EXE4EXE5EXEChoose GRAPH (F1), then GPH1 (F1). The dots are drawn.
F1F1Press EXIT to return, then SET (F6) to see the plot settings. The type is Scatter.
EXITF6
You should seeGraph Type:Scatter XList:List1 YList:List2
Tips
- If no dots show up, check that the plot is switched on and that both lists have the same length.
- After the plot, try a regression and look at the line against the dots.
Related guides
- Fit a straight line to dataFind the least-squares line y = ax + b that best matches a set of points.
- Measure how strongly two lists are relatedFind the correlation coefficient r, which runs from -1 (perfect downhill) to +1 (perfect uphill).
- Enter data into a listType a set of numbers into a list so you can summarise, plot or fit them.