Quiz: Excel Plots and Functions

1. In Excel, the Cosine function COS(x) requires the value of "x" in:

A. Radians
Correct. Excel uses radians for trigonometric functions.
B. Degrees
Incorrect. Excel uses radians for trigonometric functions.
C. Other
Incorrect. Excel uses radians for trigonometric functions.

2. The Excel function COUNT(A, B, ...)

A. Reports the number of cells in a range.
Incorrect. The function counts only the numeric cells in a range, not the total number of cells.
B. Reports the number of numeric cells in a range.
Correct. The COUNT function is for numeric values only.
C. Reports the number of non-numeric cells in a range.
Incorrect. The COUNT function is for numeric values only.

3. What type of plot is commonly used to explore the relationship between two data sets?

A. Bar chart
Incorrect. Bar charts show categorical data. It can show two data sets but a scatter plot is better for a direct comparison.
B. Scatter plot
Correct. Scatter plots show the relationship between two variables where one variable is plotted on the x-axis and the other variable is plotted on the y-axis.
C. Pie chart
Incorrect. Pie charts show fractional data. It can show two data sets but a scatter plot is better for a comparison of two data columns.

4. If you are plotting multiple data sets on a scatter plot, how can you help distinguish between the data trends if it is printed in black and white? Select all that apply.

A. Change the line style so that each is unique with solid, dashed, and dotted.
Correct. Changing the line style does not rely on color to distinguish the trends.
B. Change the point style so that each is unique with square, circle, triangle, diamond, and others.
Correct. Changing the point style does not rely on color to distinguish the trends. If there are too many points then it can mask the line style.
C. Create arrows from each legend entry to point at the associated line.
Correct. This works well, especially if there is no overlay in the trends.
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