Mr. Evans Graphing Lab Notes

Rules for Making a Graph

  1. Use the entire piece of paper in landscape view (sideways), not just a small section in the corner. If you use the entire paper it will be much easier for you to see the changes that are taking place.
  2. Draw your axes on your paper leaving space to add your labels with their proper units.
  3. The independent variable goes on the horizontal axis→ (x-axis) and the dependent variable goes on the vertical axis ↑ (y-axis).
  4. Examine your data carefully and determine the range of the data for each variable. Range = highest data point - lowest data point.
  5. Label each axis with the appropriate variable. Don’t forget to use the proper units.
  6. Count the number of boxes on each axis and jot that number down somewhere.
  7. Divide the range for one axis by the number of boxes on that axis. If the number is a decimal you will always roundup to the valid number. You have to round up to keep your graph inside your axes, if you do not your data will go off of the page. This number will be your scale for that particular axis. This step also has to be followed for each separate axis.

Scale = Range / Number of Boxes

  1. Write your scale for each axis on the axis label. This should be written as 1 box =?
  2. Label your axes with appropriate numbers to match the scale that you mathematically determined. You will not be guessing what the scale is; you will be calculating the scale for your graphs.
  3. Plot the data that you need to graph and analyze the graph to determine the relationship that exists.

Sketch the Relationships in the diagrams below