 Today, you will learn how to:
 Make a constant value a cell instead of a number
 Create a scatter plot for your data
 Insert a trendline into your graph
 Format your graph with gridlines and axes titles
 First, you will enter your given set of data into an Excel
spreadsheet.
 Make sure you put your mass value in it’s own cell. We
will use this value as a constant in your equation.
 Usually, when you copy a formula, it will change the
row/column as you copy the formula.
 To prevent this, put a $ in front of both the column letter
and the row number (ex. $A$4)
 Enter the force equation using the mass from the cell
instead of typing the number
 As you can see in the picture below, the $ does not let
the cell with the $ change:
 To calculate an average in Excel, you will want to type
AVERAGE(), and put the cells you would like to
average inside the parentheses.
 Excel also allows us to create graphs for data analysis
 To graph, start by highlighting two columns of data
 Click on the “Insert” tab, then click the scatterplot button.
 The first column you highlight will appear on the
horizontal axis of the graph.
 The second column you highlight will appear on the
vertical axis of the graph
 For the majority of your graphs, you will want to graph
points, not lines.
 Your graph should look like this:
 You should delete both instances of “Force (N)” from the
graph, since you will put titles under graphs. (Only delete
the title if you have multiple sets of data on a single graph)
 Click on your graph
 The “Chart Tools” menu will show
 Select the “Layout Tab”
 Click on the “Axes Titles” button to add horizontal and
vertical axes titles.
 For the horizontal axis, your title should read
“Radius(m)”
 For the vertical axis, your title should read “Force (N)”
 You will also want to add both major & minor gridlines for
both the horizontal and vertical axes
 In the same menu, click the “Gridlines” button, then insert
the appropriate gridlines on your graph
 Your graph should now look like this:
 Generally, when we take a set of data, we like to find an
equation to model the data.
 To add a trendline, right click on a data point on your
graph. Select “Add Trendline”.
 A menu will pop up. For this
graph, you will select:
 A linear fit
 Show equation on chart
Do NOT select the “Set
Intercept” button.
 Select close and move your equation so it can easily be
read.
 Your graph should look like this:
 Your trendline is given as a generic y vs. x graph, since
Excel does not know the variables you used to produce
the graph.
 When you present your data in your lab report, you
should replace the y and x with the appropriate
variables for your experiment.
 Example  F = 34.12r + 0.562
 Your graph should have a white background when you
submit your report.
 This should be a default setting on Office 2007. However if
you have a grey or another color background, you need to
change the color to white.
 You can do this using the “Design” tab under the “Chart
Tools” menu. Select a design with a white background.
 Just like your data table in your spreadsheet, you will
want to copy and paste your graph into a Word file
when you write your lab report.
 Make sure your graph utilizes as much space as
possible (~ ½ page) by clicking on a corner and
dragging the image so it is larger.
 Make sure you type and center a title below the graph.
 Figure 1 – A graph of centripetal force vs. the radius of
the hanging mass.
The End
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