Introducing Graphing Techniques

PURPOSE OF THE EXPERIMENT

 Learning various types of graphs and graphing techniques

 Graphs are a common method to visually illustrate relationships in the data. The purpose of a
graph is to provide a compact and efficient way of displaying the functional relationship
between two experimental parameters and of summarizing experimental results.

Background

 What is Graph
1. Define data, graph, independent variable and dependent variable
A graph represents the way in which an observed behavior or property of a substance
varies when we subject another property of the substance to a controlled change
2. (The dependant variable) should be plotted along the vertical axis (ordinate) and
(the independent variable) should be along the horizontal axis (abscissa).
3. Give example of independent variable and dependent variable
4. Let student give you an example of independent and dependent variable.
5. Explain various types of graphs used when working with chemical data ( line graph,
bar graph, and pie graph)
 Parts of a line graph
Share screen and use figure 1 and figure 2 to explain line graph.
1. Define line graph, x axis, y axis, origin and quadrants
Line graph plots a series of related values that depict a change in Y as a function of X.
Line graphs usually are designed with the dependent variable on the Y-axis and the
independent variable on the horizontal X-axis
2. Explain 4 quadrants on figure 1 ; Define grid, scale units, and data points

3. Explain to students x and y coordinate

The experimental measurements appear on the graph as data points, which are
points of intersection on the grid of values of the variables. The x- and y-values of
these data points are called x- and y-coordinates.
4. Give student an example of x and y coordinate

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 Introducing Graphing Techniques
5. Explain best fit line.
Line of best fit refers to a line through a scatter plot of data points
that best expresses the relationship between those points.
6. Using figure 2 students will tell teacher what independent variable, dependent
variable, find points on the x and y coordinate of figure 2.
7. Teacher will summarize concept and move to next concept.

 Preparing a graph
Six steps for preparing a graph:
1. Drawing the Axes-Use a ruler to draw axes; Write the names of the variables and
their units.
2. Assigning Variables to the Axes and Labeling the Axes-Assign the dependent
variable to the y-axis and the independent variable to the x-axis
3. Selecting the Scale Units-Divide each axis uniformly into appropriately sized scale
units.
4. Plotting the Data Points- using a symbol; Plot each pair of x and y values on the
grid as a data point.
5. Drawing the Best Straight Line or Smooth Curve- make straightedge pass close to
all data points
6. Titling a Graph- place title, independent variable and dependent variable
7. Students will point out 6 steps of graph on figure 2
8. Teacher will summarize concept and move to next concept.

 Interpreting Graphs
1. Interpolating a Line or Curve- you can determine the coordinates of any point
on the curve using interpolation.
2. Extrapolating a Line or Curve- extrapolation is the process of extending such a
line and determining the coordinates of a point on the extended portion
3. Calculating the Slope of a Line
 Define Directly proportional vs. inversely proportional
 Y=mx+b where: y and x are experimental values of variables in is the
slope of the line; b is the y-intercept, the value of y when x = 0.

 To find slope:
 Change in x – find the difference between the two x-values:
Ax =x2 -x1.
 change in y - find the difference between the two y-values:
Ay =y2 –y1
 Give example to student, find slope of the line in Figure 3(b).
 Find Y intercept (b) of this line by substituting the slope and a given
set of x and y-coordinates into y=mx+b

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 Introducing Graphing Techniques
4. Teacher will summarize concept and move to next concept.

 Considering Non Linear Graphs

1. If no straight line occurs in graph, try plotting the reciprocal of one of the
properties. Plot values of 1/y as the dependent variable against values of
x as the independent variable, or vice versa. If a straight line results, one
property is inversely proportional to the other.
2. If no straight line occurs in graph, calculate the logarithm of one of the
properties (log y) and plot this against the value of the other property (x),
or vice versa.
3. Explain and Show Figure 4(a) to students -the N205 concentration (y) is
plotted versus time (x), resulting in a smooth curve
4. Combining all approaches for non linear graphs might give a linear
relationship.
 Conclusion
Graphs are one of the most important tools available to scientists to display data. They
are:
1. Easy to interpret
2. Display a large amount of information in a small space
3. Easy to draw