Graph Identification

Here are the major identifing marks on a graph:

1. Axes. The horizontal, or x axis usually holds the independent variable. In this case, the independent variable is time. In graphs you create for your labs, the independent variable will be the part of the experiment that you control. In many cases, it will be time. The vertical, or y-axis usually holds the dependent variable. It is called the dependent variable because the vertical value depends on the value of the independent variable on the x-axis. In this case the independent variable is Altitude.
2. Title. The title of the graph gives you a clue as to what the graph means. This graph displays the altitude of an airplane as a function of the time since it took off.
3. Data labels. Data labels make it easy to determine exactly what data points mean, especially when the graph doesn't have grid lines.