Line chart

Line chart

A Line chart is a type of graph created by connecting a series of data points together with a line. [http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/linechart.asp Line chart] at investopedia.com.]

Overview

A line chart is a basic type of chart common in many fields. It is an extension of a scatter graph, and is created by connecting a series of points that represent individual measurements with line segments. A line chart is often used to visualize a trend in data over intervals of time, thus the line is often drawn chronologically. [Neil J. Salkind (2006). "Statistics for People who (think They) Hate Statistics: The Excel Edition". page 106.]

Example

In the experimental sciences, data collected from experiments are often visualized by a graph that includes an overlaid mathematical function depicting the best-fit trend of the scattered data. This layer is referred to as a best-fit layer and the graph containing this layer is often referred to as a line graph.

For example, if one were to collect data on the speed of a body at certain points in time, one could visualize the data by a data table such as the following:

::

The table "visualization" is a good way of displaying precise values, but a very poor way of understanding the underlying patterns that those values represent. Because of these qualities, the table display is often erroneously conflated with the data itself; whereas it is just another visualization of the data.

Understanding the process described by the data in the table is aided by producing a graph or line chart of "Speed versus Time". In this context, Versus (or the abbreviations vs and VS), separates the parameters appearing in an X-Y (two-dimensional) graph. The first argument indicates the dependent variable, usually appearing on the Y-axis, while the second argument indicates the independent variable, usually appearing on the X-axis. Thus the graph of "Speed versus Time" would plot time along the x-axis and speed up the y-axis. Mathematically, if we denote time by the variable t, and speed by v, then the function plotted in the graph would be denoted v(t) indicating that v (the dependent variable) is a function of t.

It is simple to construct a "best-fit" layer consisting of a set of line segments connecting adjacent data points; however, such a "best-fit" is usually not an ideal representation of the trend of the underlying scatter data for the following reasons:
# It is highly improbable that the discontinuities in the slope of the best-fit would correspond exactly with the positions of the measurement values.
# It is highly unlikely that the experimental error in the data is negligible, yet the curve falls exactly through each of the data points.

A true best-fit layer should depict a continuous mathematical function whose parameters are determined by using a suitable error-minimization scheme, which appropriately weights the error in the data values.

In either case, the best-fit layer can reveal trends in the data. Further, measurements such as the gradient or the area under the curve can be made visually, leading to more conclusions from the data.

ee also

* Chart
* Graph of a function
* List of information graphics software

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Line Chart —   [engl.], Liniendiagramm …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Line Chart — A style of chart that is created by connecting a series of data points together with a line. This is the most basic type of chart used in finance and it is generally created by connecting a series of past prices together with a line. As you can… …   Investment dictionary

  • Line Chart —    Used in technical analysis, a line chart is the simplest form of chart. It is a plain record of a price charted against time, with the changes marked as dots and joined together by a line. (Figure 11.)    ► See also Technical Analysis. * * *… …   Financial and business terms

  • line chart — linijinė diagrama statusas T sritis informatika apibrėžtis ↑Diagrama, kurioje vieno arba kelių duomenų rinkinių reikšmės vaizduojamos dvimatėje koordinačių sistemoje ir jungiamos linijomis. Plačiau žr. priede. priedas( ai) MS Word formatas… …   Enciklopedinis kompiuterijos žodynas

  • line chart — / laɪn tʃɑ:t/ noun a chart or graph using lines to indicate values …   Marketing dictionary in english

  • line chart — / laɪn tʃɑ:t/ noun a chart or graph using lines to indicate values …   Dictionary of banking and finance

  • line chart —   Eng. grafico lineare   Grafico a linea continua che evidenzia l andamento del prezzo delle azioni …   Glossario di economia e finanza

  • line graph — ➔ graph1 * * * line graph UK US noun [C] GRAPHS & CHARTS ► LINE CHART(Cf. ↑line chart) …   Financial and business terms

  • Chart — For other uses, see Chart (disambiguation) , Graph (disambiguation) , and Diagram For information about charts in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Graphs and charts. A pie chart. A chart is a graphical representation of data, in which the …   Wikipedia

  • Chart pattern — A chart pattern is a pattern that is formed within a chart when prices are graphed. In stock and commodity markets trading, chart pattern studies play a large role during technical analysis. When data is plotted there is usually a pattern which… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”