What to do
A scatter plot shows the relationship between two numerical variables by plotting paired values as points on a coordinate grid.
Method
- Read each ordered pair carefully.
Identify the first value as the horizontal coordinate (x) and the second as the vertical coordinate (y).
- Check the axes and scale.
Make sure you know which variable goes on each axis and how far apart the tick marks are.
- Plot each point.
Start at the origin, move left or right for (x), then up or down for (y), and place a point.
- Repeat for all pairs.
Plot every point exactly as given. Do not connect the points unless instructed to do so.
How to simplify the final answer
If the exercise asks for a final written answer, list the plotted points clearly in ordered-pair form. Keep the coordinates in simplest form, if any values can be simplified.
Check your work
- Each point should match its coordinates.
- The number of plotted points should equal the number of pairs.
- Points should be in the correct quadrant or on the correct axis.
A quick final check is to read each pair back and confirm that the plotted location matches both values.