Line chart

A line chart or line graph, also known as curve chart,[1] is a type

of chart which displays information as a series of data points called
'markers' connected by straight line segments.[2] It is a basic type of
chart common in many fields. It is similar to a scatter plot except
that the measurement points are ordered (typically by their x-axis
value) and joined with straight line segments. A line chart is often
used to visualize a trend in data over intervals of time – a time series
– thus the line is often drawn chronologically. In these cases they
are known as run charts. Line chart showing the population of
the town of Pushkin, Saint
Petersburg from 1800 to 2010,
History measured at various intervals

Some of the earliest known line charts are generally credited to

Francis Hauksbee, Nicolaus Samuel Cruquius, Johann Heinrich Lambert and William Playfair.[3]

Example
In the experimental sciences, data collected from experiments are often visualized by a graph. For example,
if one collects data on the speed of an object at certain points in time, one can visualize the data in a data
table such as the following:

Elapsed Time (s) Speed (m s−1)

0 0

1 3
2 7

3 12

4 18
5 30

6 45.6

Such a table representation of data is a great way to Graph of speed versus time
display exact values, but it can prevent the discovery
and understanding of patterns in the values. In
addition, a table display is often erroneously considered to be an objective, neutral collection or storage of
the data (and may in that sense even be erroneously considered to be the data itself) whereas it is in fact just
one of various possible visualizations of the data.

Understanding the process described by the data in the table is aided by producing a graph or line chart of
speed versus time. Such a visualisation appears in the figure to the right. This visualization can let the
viewer quickly understand the entire process at a glance.
This visualization can however be misunderstood, especially when expressed as showing the mathematical
function that expresses the speed (the dependent variable) as a function of time . This can be
misunderstood as showing speed to be a variable that is dependent only on time. This would however only
be true in the case of an object being acted on only by a constant force acting in a vacuum.

Such misunderstanding of the mathematical concept of something called A being a function of something
called B as expressing a causal relationship is however common among laypeople (and reinforced by the
term "dependent variable") and is not dependent on representation in a line chart.

Best-fit
Charts often include an overlaid mathematical function depicting the best-
fit trend of the scattered data. This layer is referred to as a best-fit layer
and the graph containing this layer is often referred to as a line graph.

It is simple to construct a "best-fit" layer consisting of a set of line

segments connecting adjacent data points; however, such a "best-fit" is
usually not an ideal representation of the trend of the underlying scatter
A best-fit line chart (simple
data for the following reasons:
linear regression)

1. It is highly improbable that the discontinuities in the slope of

the best-fit would correspond exactly with the positions of the
measurement values.
2. It is highly unlikely that the experimental error in the data is
negligible, yet the curve falls exactly through each of the data
points.

In either case, the best-fit layer can reveal trends in the data. Further,
measurements such as the gradient or the area under the curve can be
made visually, leading to more conclusions or results from the data table.

A true best-fit layer should depict a continuous mathematical function

whose parameters are determined by using a suitable error-minimization A parody line graph (1919) by
scheme, which appropriately weights the error in the data values. Such William Addison Dwiggins.
curve fitting functionality is often found in graphing software or
spreadsheets. Best-fit curves may vary from simple linear equations to
more complex quadratic, polynomial, exponential, and periodic curves.[4]

See also
Curve fitting
Data and information visualization
List of information graphics software
Run chart

References
1. Spear, Mary Eleanor (1952). Charting Statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 41.
OCLC 166502 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/166502).
2. Burton G. Andreas (1965). Experimental psychology. p.186
 3. Michael Friendly (2008). "Milestones in the history of thematic cartography, statistical
graphics, and data visualization" (http://www.math.yorku.ca/SCS/Gallery/milestone/mileston
e.pdf). pp 13–14. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
4. "Curve fitting" (http://physics.info/curve-fitting/). The Physics Hypertextbook.

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