Excel 2010 Bible

Part III: Creating Charts and Graphics

478

is 40301 (May 3, 2010) and the Maximum is 40385 (July 26, 2010). Specify 7 for the

Major Unit, to display one-week intervals. Use the number tab to specify a date format

for the axis labels.

9. Apply other formatting as desired.

Plotting mathematical functions with one variable

An XY chart is useful for plotting various mathematical and trigonometric functions. For example,

Figure 19.40 shows a plot of the SIN function. The charts plots y for values of x (expressed in

radians) from –5 to +5 in increments of 0.5. Each pair of x and y values appears as a data point in

the chart, and the points connect with a line.

The function is expressed as

y = SIN(x)

The corresponding formula in cell B2 (which is copied to the cells below) is

=SIN(A2)

On the CD
The companion CD-ROM contains a general-purpose, single-variable plotting application. The file is named
function plot 2D.xlsx.

FIGURE 19.40

This chart plots the SIN(x).