Graph Drawing | 1

Graphs
In order to see the quantitative relationship between the physical quantities involved in an experiment, we express our
measurement of these quantities in tabular form. Although we can make some prediction from this data table, another
very useful way of expressing the data is plotting a graph from it. A graph provides a visual picture of the data and from
the graph we can deduce the relationship between two related variable physical quantities. In order to plot a graph of
two variables, we use rectangular x- and y-axes. The horizontal axis (x-axis or abscissa) is used for the independent
variable, like time t. The vertical axis ( y-axis or ordinate) is used for the dependent variable, like the height h from the
ground of a ball falling freely. The location of a point on the graph is defined by its coordinates x and y. The coordinates
of the point are written as an ordered pair (x, y) and they are measured with respect to the intersection of x- and y-axes
called the origin (0, 0).
From our measurements, we should have a set of points (x 1 , y1 ), (x 2 , y2 ), (x 3 , y3 ) etc. Where x 1 and y1 are the coordinates
of the first point, and so on. When we plot the data points with their error bars, we do not join all the points together by
a zigzag. Instead of this, we try to draw a smooth curve or a straight line, which may not pass through some of the data
points. Smooth means that the line we draw does not have to pass exactly through each plotted point, but passes the
plotted points as a curve of best fit.
The graph we draw, however, indicates how the two quantities depend on each other.

Best and worst lines

In a linear graph, the best line and worst line are concepts used to describe how well data points align with a straight
line when analyzing experimental data:

• Best line: The best line is the straight line that most accurately represents the trend of the data points on the
graph. This line minimizes the overall distance between the line and all the data points. In technical terms, it’s
often referred to as the line of best fit or regression line. It’s the ideal representation of the relationship between
the variables plotted on the graph.

• Worst line: The worst line is typically drawn as one of the extreme boundaries of the data points, representing a
line that still fits the overall trend but shows the largest possible deviation from the best fit line within the acceptable
range of data variation. It helps visualize the potential uncertainty in the data and how much the data points
might vary from the best line. This concept is used to assess the reliability or precision of the experiment, showing
the potential extremes of how the data could be interpreted.

These lines help provide insight into how well the data supports a linear relationship and the uncertainty associated
with that relationship.
See Fig. 1.1 for two different examples of these lines.

Best line Best line

Worst line Worst line

(a) (b)

Figure 1.1. Two different examples of graphs with best and worst lines.
2 | Graph Drawing

Drawing graphs

For our lab reports, a graph should be self-explanatory and include some information and calculations. Therefore it
must have:

1. The titles of the graph on the graph paper (usually written like Height versus Time or like Pressure versus Temperature).

2. The student’s and, if any, the partner’s name and experiment date.

3. Each axis labeled with the quantity plotted and its proper unit.

4. The scaling so that points are distributed as widely as possible over the area of the graph paper used to plot the
graph.

5. Simple scales to make calculations straightforward (whole number of squares represent whole unit as a scale).

6. The error bars representing the uncertainty in each reading.

7. Best line and worst line for your data points.

8. Two triangles with side values for slope calculations.

9. Calculations for the best line and worst line slopes and the error in the slope (mbest , mworst and ∆m).

See Fig. 1.2 for an example graph.

Position versus Time Graph Feza Gürsey

x (cm) October 15, 2024

mbest, mworts and m

calculations

Best line
Worst line

t (s)

Figure 1.2. An example graph.

 Graph Drawing | 3

Common graph drawing mistakes

We are listing the common mistakes made by students when drawing graphs. While drawing your graphs you can review
this list to avoid these mistakes.
Mistake #1 Mistake #2

??? vs ??? Graph

? (?)

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• No graph name • Bad scaling for one of the axes.

• No axis labels with units • No use of all graph paper

Mistake #3 Mistake #4

• Drawing line segments instead of a single line • Not drawing the error bars

Mistake #5 Mistake #6

3
2.45
2

1
0.8

• Showing each data point’s exact value on axes • Drawing the worst line with a similar slope with the
best line
4 | Graph Drawing

Mistake #7 Mistake #8

• Choosing small triangles • Having wrong error bars

• Not scaling error bars to the graph

Mistake #9 Mistake #10

x (cm) x (cm)

????????=??
??????=??
?????=???

t (s) t (s)

• Not showing your slope calculations explicitly • Not using units in each step of calculations

Mistake #11 Mistake #12

t (s)

x (m)

• Wrongly choosing axes • Using data points instead of triangles for slope
• The slope has no physical meaning calculation