To show a linear relationship using Excel,
such as density, complete the following steps:
1. Enter the X values in column A.
2. Enter the Y values in column B.
3. Press the chart button in the toolbar, OR under Insert in
the menu, select Chart.
4. Select plot type "XY scatter". Press
<Next>.
5. Set the data range by selecting all the data. (Click
in a corner and drag the mouse until all boxes are selected. Do NOT include the
titles.)
6. Click on the Series tab. Make sure
the proper X and Y values are selected. (If you put X as column
A and Y as column B, this will be done automatically. In any case,
make sure the values next to X-axis reflect the location of the X values
on the spreadsheet, and the values next to Y-axis reflect the location
of the Y values.) For example, on a density plot the mass should
be on the Y-axis, and volume on the X-axis. Press <Next>.
7. Fill in the titles. Don't forget to list the
units! Press <Next>.
8. Press <Finish>.
9. To draw a straight line thru the data, under Chart in the
menu select "Add Trendline".
10. Select Linear. Press the Options tab.
11. If the plot is to go thru the origin, check the "Set
Intercept" box, and enter 0 in the box.
12. To show the equation of the line (y=mx +b), check the
"Show Equation" box. Press <OK>.
13. To change the scale to make the plot take up most of the
space, right click on a gridline and select "format gridline". Enter the
changes for the x or y axis as needed.
Here is a sample density plot from class data obtained by the 1st
period AP Chemistry class.
To calculate the density column, enter the formula "=
B2/A2" to divide the mass by the volume in the first box (C2). Click on that
box, and drag down to the bottom of the data. Under the Edit menu, select
"Fill" and "Down". The spreadsheet will automatically change
the row numbers in the formula for each entry.
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