Data Analysis & Graphing

Suppose I gave you a table of data

A long, long table…

How does one make

sense of all this data?
Surface temperature (last Sunday)

T  f  x, y 
The figure is capable of
revealing patterns that are
not obvious in the data!
Dependence on Time (last Sunday)

4:00 pm noon

9:00 am 5:00 am
It’s evident that…

T  f  x, y, t 

Figures can
• Re-tell the data
• Reveal patterns
• tell a story
Multi-dimensional imaging
Consider an enormous data table containing
frequencies and the variables x, y, t, and T.
Wind velocity… what’s missing?
Velocity is a vector
Many types of graphs
Data summing to 100%...

Distribution of full-time graduate students in

engineering, 1997. (n=65594)

Other Aerospace
12% 4% Chemical
Materials
6% 9%
Civil
Mechanical 17%
16%
Industrial Electrical
8% 28%
Where do WIE students live?
WIE 2006 Student Distribution by Zip Code

12

10
Number of Students

0
06796- 07856- 20611- 21091- 21131- 21201- 21206- 21211- 21216- 21221- 21236- 22191-
06800 07860 20615 21095 21135 21205 21210 21215 21220 21225 21240 22195

Zip Codes
Where do commuter students live
(2006)?
WIE Student Distribution by Zip Code
12
Other
Residential
Commuter
Balt. Poly. Inst.
10
Number of Students

8
5

6
8
4 2

5
2
1 3 1
2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0
06796- 07856- 20611- 21091- 21131- 21201- 21206- 21211- 21216- 21221- 21236- 22191-
06800 07860 20615 21095 21135 21205 21210 21215 21220 21225 21240 22195

Zip Codes
Graphing requirements

• Axis labels
• Unit designations
• Title
• Legend
• Caption

• A story
Scaling – telling a BAD story

Product Effectiveness
85
mice captured [%]

80

75
Our Brand B C
Brands
Graphs in Labs

• How did you present your data in the

college rankings lab?

• How did you present your data in the

materials lab?

• Why?
When is a table better than a figure?

Five significant digits

What’s the density of a 7% mixture?

Densities of Ethanol-Water Mixtures

1.000
T=30˚C
0.995
Density [g/cm^3]

0.990

0.985

0.980

0.975

0.970
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Ethanol fraction [%]

The table shows that the density is 0.98347 g/cm3

Data Analysis: Linear Interpolation
What is the density of a 5.5% ethyl alcohol solution at 25 C?

Determine by linear interpolation!

Data Analysis: Linear Interpolation
To solve, assume a linear relationship between:
• Density and temperature and/or
• Density and % ethyl alcohol

0.996

0.992
density (?)

20C
0.988 25C
30C
0.984

0.98

0.976
0 2 4 6 8 10
% ethyl alcohol
Data Analysis: Bilinear Interpolation
What if there is a non-linear relationship between x and y?

Over small Δx, can still approximate a linear relationship between x and y.
Data Analysis: Bilinear Interpolation
To solve, assume a linear relationship between:
• Density and temperature and
• Density and % ethyl alcohol

0.996
density (g/mL)

0.992
5.5%, T=23C 20C
0.988 25C
* 30C
0.984

0.98

0.976
0 2 4 6 8 10
% ethyl alcohol
Practice Problem… then break