Using MS Excel to Investigate Straight Line Graphs
Making a Table of Values: FUNCTION 1
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Open a new Excel spreadsheet, save it into your documents area.
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Click on cell A1 and label this first column ‘x’.
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Click on cell A2 and type in ‘-10’. Click on cell A3 and type in ‘-9’.
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Highlight cells A2 and A3 and drag down the bottom right corner to cell A22.
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Excel automatically fills in the values: -8, -7, -6, … 8, 9, 10 in these cells.
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Click on cell B1 and label this second column ‘y = x+2’.
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Click on cell B2 and type in ‘=’ then click on cell A2 ‘+2’.
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Click on the tick symbol and Excel will fill in the correct value for cell B2 of -8.
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Click on cell B2 and drag down the bottom right corner to cell B22.
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Excel automatically fills in these values using the same function machine formula (x+2).
Questions: FUNCTION 1
a) What is the value of y when x is -5?
b) What is the value of x when y is 6?
Drawing: FUNCTION 1
The table of values for the function
y = x+2 can be plotted as a graph:

Highlight cells A1 to B22 and
click on the Insert menu at the
top of the screen.

Click on Scatter Chart and select
the middle one on the right,
which is points plotted and
joined with straight lines.
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What do you notice about all of
the points?
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Where does the graph cross the
y-axis?
Making a Table of Values: FUNCTION 2

Click on cell C1 and label this column ‘y = x – 6’.
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Click on cell C2 and type in ‘= click on cell A2 - 6’. Click on the tick symbol

Excel will fill in the correct value of -16

Highlight cells C2 and drag down the bottom right corner to cell C22, for Excel to
automatically fill in the rest of the table of values.
Drawing: FUNCTION 2

Highlight cells A1 to A22 and cells C1 to C22 (using the Ctrl button to get both columns)

Click on the Insert menu at the top of the screen and follow the same steps as before.
Questions: FUNCTION 2
a) Compare your 2 graphs: what is the same about them?
b) Compare your 2 graphs: what is different about them?
FUNCTIONS 3 ,4 and 5
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Click on cell D1 and label this column ‘y = 3x’.
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Complete the table of values for this function, using the formula ‘= click on cell A2 *3’
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Use the same method to draw the graph of this function.
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Compare it to the other two graphs – what is the same? what is different?
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Click on cell E1 and label this column ‘y = 0.5x’.
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Complete the table of values for this function, using the formula ‘= click on cell A2 *0.5’
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Draw the graph of this function and compare it to y = 3x
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Click on cell F1 and label this column ‘y = -2x’.
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Complete the table of values for this function, using the formula ‘= click on cell A2 *-2’
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Draw the graph of this function and compare it to y = 3x and y = 0.5x