Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I help people communicate data clearly with graphs. This post is motivated by a comment on my blog post Line Charts Are Not Always ...

When you create a graph in Excel, the software automatically sizes the X and Y axis lines, so the data you want to display is shown. You can override the settings and set the vertical and horizontal ...

Graphs in Microsoft Excel typically chart time on the horizontal axis. Time is the independent variable in most relationships and dependent variables appear on the vertical axis. Some charts, though, ...

Plotting a graph takes time. Often mathematicians just want to know the key features. These are: shape, location and some key points (such as where the graph crosses the axes or turning points).

The graphs of \(y = 2x + 1\) and \(y = 2x - 2\) are shown below. The graph of \(y = 2x + 1\) crosses the \(y\)-axis at (0, 1). The graph of \(y = 2x - 2\) crosses the ...