Graph a Linear Function in Excel
In Excel, you form the ordered pairs in a table and Excel places them in an appropriate
window.
1. Open Excel. At the top of
the window you’ll see a
number of tabs like the
Home tab. These tabs
contain the commands that
we can select to graph and
format data as well as do
calculations with data. The
lower portion of the Excel
window consists of a table
with individual cells to store
data within. The column are
labeled with capital letters
and the row are labeled with
numbers. Each cell in the
table can be referenced by
referring to it column and
row like A1 or B2.
2. In the column labeled A we’ll
place the values for the
independent variable x we
want to graph. We could put
each individual x value into
the cells, but it is easier to
use Excel’s Fill feature.
Using the Fill feature we can
quickly place values into the
column. In this case, we
place x values from -3 to 3
in increments of 0.5 in the
Graph a Linear Function in Excel
column.
3. Click your mouse pointer in
cell A1. Type the number -3.
Press the Enter key on your
keyboard. You should now
be in cell A2. In that cell
type the number -2.5. Press
the Enter key on your
keyboard.
4. To activate the Fill, click you
mouse pointer in cell A1.
While holding the left mouse
button down, drag the
pointer to cell A2. A black
box will be drawn around
these cells to indicate that
these cells have been
selected for the Fill.
5. In the lower right hand
corner of the selection box
is a small box or “handle”.
Click on the handle. While
depressing the left mouse
button, drag the pointer to
cell A13. As you drag the
pointer, you’ll see the
numbers that will be filled in
the cells.
Graph a Linear Function in Excel
6. Release the left mouse
button once you get to cell
A13. When you do this, cells
A1 through will be filled with
numbers from -3 to 3 in
increments of 0.5. If we had
entered a different number
in cell A2, the increments
would be different. For
instance, placing a -2 in cell
A2 would have filled the
cells in increments of 1.
7. In the second column,
labeled B we’ll put the
corresponding values of
the dependent variable
from
y  3 x  1 . Click
your mouse pointer in cell
B1. Type = 3*A1-1. Using
the = tells Excel to do a
calculation. In this case,
Excel will multiply the x
value in cell A1 by 3 and
subtract 1.
8. Press Enter on the
keyboard to calculate the
formula in the cell.
Graph a Linear Function in Excel
9. Select cell B1 by clicking
your mouse pointer in the
cell. Click on the Fill
handle in the lower right
hand corner of the
selection box. While
holding the left mouse
button, drag the handle to
cell B13. Release the
mouse button to fill the
column with the y values
corresponding to the x
values from column C.
10. Click you mouse pointer in
cell A1. While holding the
left mouse button, drag to
cell B13 so that you select
all of the data in columns
A and B.
11. Along the top of the Excel
window, click on Insert tab.
12. From the Chart panel, click
on the Scatter button.
13. From the choices that
appear, click on Scatter
with Smooth Lines. This
will create a graph that
connects the data in
column A and B without
plotting any symbols at the
ordered pairs.
Graph a Linear Function in Excel
14. The graph will appear to
the right of the data in the
Excel worksheet. This
graph includes a legend
on the right that reads
“Series 1”.
15. Since the legend does not
have any meaning in this
context, let’s eliminate it.
Click your mouse on the
legend. A selection
rectangle will appear
around the legend. Press
the Delete key on your
keyboard to delete the
label.