• Add to syllabus chat…teaching how to think, not memorize. Regardless of whether it’s a physics course, employers will want some who can think and process. Even if you work a mundane job, advancement will still go to those who can think.

How to create a proper graph for Physics lab work

Maximize your graph paper. Utilize about 90% of the page. The tree has already been sacrificed, so don’t worry about conservation.

Include a descriptive title

Include units AND label each axis

Choose scales appropriately:Note on this graph eachsquare on the y-axis equals 1 cm (not 3, 7.5, etc). Each square on the x-axis equals 50 g (not 25, 33.3, etc). Scales can be different for each axis

Plot each datapoint with asmall dot and a“point protector”(do not plot asjust a dot)

Draw the line (or curve)of best fit. This linegoes “through themiddle” of the data,showing the underlyingpattern. The line of best fit may

or may not actually hit the data (do not “connect thedots”).

Curve Fitting & Best Fit

#1 #2

#3 #4

Best Fit lines:

Do not have to pass through origin Are an average of the data points Do not have to pass through any data points Never connect the dots!

#3

Find slope of the best fit line if asked and SHOW WORK on graph.

Identify TWO points chosen off of best fit line and show slope triangle.

Slope is just a number in math class. However, it has physical meaning in physics & usually has units associated with it.

In this case the slope should read: 0.032 cm/g

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yslope