How to Graph With Software

Many different types of software can help you produce a graph

Before computers, graphs were drawn by hand on paper. This was often a time-consuming task, especially when professional-looking graphs were required. Currently, there are so many graphing applications to choose from that the selection might seem overwhelming. Microsoft Excel is an application that can accomplish your graphing needs.. Hand-held calculators like the TI83 can be purchased fairly inexpensively online, and computer algebra systems like Maple can handle complex calculations and graphs.

Instructions

TI-83 Graphing Calculator

1. Press the blue "Y=" button.

2. Type your equation to the right of "\Y1=". For example, you might type "sin(x)" to graph a sine wave.

3. Press "Graph."

Excel 2007

1. Type the equation inputs in column A. For example, if you want to graph a sine wave, you might type sensible angles into column A, like 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, etc.

2. Type the equation into the first cell of column B. For our sine wave example the excel formula is "=SIN(A1*PI()/180"

3. Press "Ctrl" and "C" at the same time while the equation cell is highlighted.

4. Select all the cells in column B, then press "Ctrl" and "V" at the same time to paste the equation into all those cells.

5. Select all the data by left-clicking on the top left cell, and dragging the mouse to the bottom-right cell.

6. Click the "Insert" ribbon.

7. Click the "Scatter" button in the Charts section of the Insert ribbon.

8. Select "Scatter with smooth lines and markers" and your graph will appear in the worksheet.

Maple

1. Type "plot(" followed by your equation into the command prompt. For example, to graph a sine wave type "plot(sin(x)".

2. Type ", x=" followed by your desired range. For the sine wave the range could be 0 to 360, so you'd type ",x=0..360".

3. Type ");" to close the command. In the example, the command is:
   plot(sin(x),x=0..360);

4. Press "Enter."

Tips & Warnings

• Cheap hand held graphing calculators can often be found on online auction sites. Visit your local university library: Many will have a computer algebra system installed on a library computer for public use.

References

• Utah University: Making a Graph With Maple
• Statistics How to: Graphing the Standard Normal Distribution
• University of Wyoming: TI 83 Basics

Resources

• Statistics How To: Create a Histogram on the TI89