I don't usually make scatter plots. But I'm doing one now, and I don't want to mess it up. So I looked it up.
Sounds good. So I went to Sciencing to get the whole story. Specifically, to get the title right.
Too much information, maybe.
I read it twice. Then I made my scatter plot title. Then my forehead wrinkled and the gray matter told me That's not right.
If "plant growth" is the y-axis variable and the proper form is "y-axis variable vs. x-axis variable", then the title would be "Plant Growth vs. Amount of Fertilizer." Not "Amount of Fertilizer vs. Plant Growth."
Now I have to wonder if it's just coincidence Google omitted that last sentence from Sciencing, or if the Google AI is really smarter than I am.
1 comment:
I found this the other day:
Preparing Graphs
https://chemlab.truman.edu/data-analysis/preparing-graphs/
Author: J. M. McCormick
Last Update: May 8, 2013
This, the opening paragraph, would have been helpful when I was trying to get the title right:
"When we prepare a graph the independent variable is always on the “x-axis”, and the dependent variable is always on the “y-axis”. We indicate which variable is which by saying as a function of or “versus”, with the dependent variable coming first, and the independent variable coming second. So if someone says, “volume was plotted as a function of mass” or “the volume is plotted versus mass,” it means that mass was on the x-axis and volume was on the y-axis. Watch what you say/write as there is only one correct usage!"
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