Create a Scatter Chart


Create a Scatter Chart

Select the data you want to display in the chart. If the selection includes text labels, you can add a legend to help identify data in charts with multiple y values. If there is more than one y value for each x value, see “Display Multiple Y Values,” later in this topic.

Chart Wizard button

You can let the Chart Wizard help you create the chart. After selecting the data, click the Chart Wizard button, and then select the XY (Scatter) type in step 1 of the wizard. For more information on creating charts, see Create a Chart from Worksheet Data.

What’s the difference between a line chart and a scatter chart? Line charts and scatter charts look very similar. However, the line chart displays categories of data evenly along the x axis, with values along the y axis. When data should be displayed in uneven clusters, the scatter chart works better. If you want your scatter chart to display connecting lines between points, you can select one of the built-in chart subtypes with lines from the Chart Type dialog box (Chart menu).

What if my data has three y values? Use the Chart Wizard to create a bubble chart, which is similar to a scatter chart, except that each data point is a “bubble,” the size of which is determined by one of the three data series.

Display Multiple Y Values

When your data has two or more y values corresponding to each x value, arrange the data as shown to get the chart you want. If your data series are in rows instead of columns, the x values should be in the top row and the y values in the following rows.

Office Assistant button

Want to know more? Look up Getting Results - Scientific Data in Help.

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