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by Tim Lehman

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Assignment #12

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The uses of excel as a graphing tool will be examined in this assignment. First, we will look at various f(x) functions.

Let's start with f(x)=x with x varying from -10 to 10. Click here to see the spreadsheet.

Another graph we will look at is f(x)=sin(x). Again, the spreadsheet can be seen here.

Excel can be a way to good way to look at functions. However, it does have its drawbacks. The graph is only as accurate as the number of x-values that are entered. For limited x-values, the following graph of f(x)=5sin(x) is produced. Click here for the full spreadsheet.

However, we know that this is not the correct graph. Click here for the graphing calculator sketch if you do not trust me.

Parametric equations can also be done on Excel. Below, we have the Excel graph of x=cos(t) and y=sin(t) for t ranging from -10 to 10. Again, better picked x-coordinates would give a more accurate graph.

For example,a graphing calculator sketch of the same graph follows

It is interesting to think of Excel as a grapher. Except for cases when one only knows points and wants to see the graph, Graphing Calculator is a much better tool.