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Graphing in EXCEL

Everyone has different levels of proficiency when it comes to Excel. The idea of this tutorial is
for you to first go through the checklist. If you are unsure about any of the things mentioned,
go to the corresponding page. The whole tutorial is only eight pages long, so it probably
wouldn’t hurt to read it all the way through the first time and use it as a guide in the future.






Checklist:
§ Do you have a graph? (If not read the whole thing)
§ Does it have a title? (pg. 4)
§ Does it have axes? (pg. 4)
§ Are the axes labeled? (pg. 4)
§ Is there a trendline? (pg. 5-6)
§ Is there an R2? (pg. 5-6)
§ Significant figures? (pg. 7)
§ Does the data look correct? (pg. 7-8)

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GRAPHING IN EXCEL
Excel is a highly utilized tool in both the science lab as well as the workplace due to it’s ability to
present data in a visually understandable and appealing way. Throughout this semester we will
be using Excel to record, graph and understand error within data found in the lab. Being able to
record data and graph efficiently is vital to success in this and every science class you will take
throughout your college career. So let’s get to it!



Excel

Starting with the basic layout

It’s the typical Microsoft office layout that you’ve grown to love (or hate). It is composed of
Tabs that link to a toolbox that contain all your necessary items. The main page is gridded out
like graphing paper, the columns are lettered and the rows are numbered (A cell would be
labeled as A1 for column A row 1).




Let’s get to the data
In the middle of the main page there’s data already entered (D9:E17). Notice how the data is
entered column by column. The first column is the independent variable (in this case time in
seconds). The second column is the dependent variable (in this case distance in meters). If this
were an experiment “Johnny” would be holding a stopwatch and recording distances at certain
times.



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Making A Graph

To produce a graph from this data, you start by clicking the Insert tab

You then highlight the data you want to produce a graph. It’s important to highlight DATA ONLY
as highlighting text tends to confuse the program and ruins your graphs.

For almost all the graphs you will make in this lab you will want to use the scatter plot. This
plot merely graphs the data points and allows you to create the lines around it. Make sure to
use only the scatter, do not use any of the other scatter plots (like scatter with line).

The Graph
The graph should look something like this

YOU’RE NOT DONE YET!!! (what is the graph missing?)

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Labeling!!
Labeling your graph can be just as important as graphing your data. It helps everyone else
interpret and understand your data. So how do you do it?

When you have the graph selected, a tab should show up that says Chart Design

When you are in this tab, there should be an icon on the far left side of the toolbar (red arrow).
From this icon a drop down menu will appear. This menu will allow you to add axes, chart titles,
and axis titles. To produce a decent chart, you need axis with labels and units!

You should have a graph that looks like this:

Notice how there are two axes with labels and units along with a chart title.
Congratulations you have a graph! But you’re not done yet!
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Trendlines and R2
One the most powerful parts of graphing is it gives you the ability to extrapolate an average
trend. Take the graph we’ve been working with, the data that “Johnny” collected isn’t exactly
perfect, maybe due to the fact that he’s using a stopwatch, maybe due to natural variation in
the moving object. To account for this, you take more than two data points and extrapolate a
trend. This “trend” line will give you an average for your entire data set. How the R2 factors
into this is it determines how much your data varies from this trendline. Let’s look at the graph
with a trendline.
This is the same data set used in the
previous examples. The data was plotted in
Speed of x1 (m/s) a scatter plot and a trendline was created
35 for the data. Notice how there are two
30 equations on for the line. The top equation
y = 1.92x + 1.84 y=1.92x+1.84 represents the the trend that
Distance (m)

25
20 R² = 0.98
the data follows. This particular trend is
15
linear and follows the standard format
10
5 y=mx+b where m is the slope (the units in
0 this case would be m/s) and b is the y
0 5 10 15 20 intercept (in m). The second equation is the
Time (s) R2 value. This value determines the
probability that a x value would produce a y
value that coordinates with the trendline.

How do you make a trendline?
There are multiple ways to make a trendline in excel (one way is in the chart design tab). Below
is a method that will allow you to put multiple trendlines on one graph (for example if you were
to put more than one trial on your graph). Going back to our almost finished graph.

To access the trendline, click on your graph and select a data set. Notice how the independent
variable data set is highlighted in
purple (in the spreadsheet) and the
dependent variable is highlighted in
blue (again in the spreadsheet). When
you have the data set selected, right
click on a data point and scroll down
and click the “Add Trendline” link.







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Trendline adjustment
Once you’ve added a trendline, a line will appear on your graph with an equation. On the right
side of your screen a toolbar should open that looks like this.


What your trendline needs:

• Your trendline will typically be linear
• You will need to set the
o Display equation on chart box
o Display R-squared value on chart box
• Typically, you should not set the intercept (even if
your intercept should be zero) as this will skew your
data










Your Graph Is Done! (This is what it should look like)

Speed of x1 (m/s) Notice what’s included:
• Title
35 • Axes
30
• Labels (with units)
Distance (m)

25
y = 2x + 2
20
R² = 1
• A line of best fit
15 • An R2 value
10
5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Time (s)







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Troubleshooting
Many things can go wrong between your data input and your graph formation. This part is
dedicated to addressing some of these problems.

Significant Figures (sig figs)
Sig figs can be troublesome as excel does not account for them in your data. You must change
the answer to align with your data. To do this, click on the equation on your graph.

When you click on the equation a toolbar should pop up on the right hand side of the screen
(much like with your trendline, if it doesn’t show up try double clicking the equation again)

When this shows up change the category to number. Below this toolbar there is a box that says
“decimal places”. Change this to the number of decimal places that your data will allow.

If the numbers are quite large, use the category “scientific”.

Axes are mixed up
Sometimes, even if you put your axes in the right spot on the spreadsheet (remember
independent variable first, dependent variable second), excel messes it up (stupid computers!).
To fix this, right click within the graph.
You should get a drop down menu. In
this drop down menu select the “select
data” link.







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Axes are all mixed up (continued)

When the select data link is selected, a pop up box will appear that looks like this:

It looks confusing, but really it’s just telling you where the data is coming from. Notice how
there is a dotted green box surrounding the data underneath the “Time (s)” label when the X
values box is selected. This is telling you that your X values are coming from the area within the
green box. Make sure the box surrounds the correct data, it is only surrounding the column
you want to use, and that no labels appear within the data set. If you need to change where the
data comes from, remember to delete everything in the appropriate box (x values box for
independent, y values box for dependent). Otherwise, you will just add more data boxes on and
ruin your graph!



Copy and Pasting
It should be noted that copying and pasting information from excel into your word document
will typically link the two documents, so any changes in your excel spreadsheet will be reflected
in your graph on word! You can get around this by pasting your graph as a picture or as
microsoft office object.