Home / Statistical Tools / Analysis Tools / Scatter Plot
Scatter Plot¶
Visualize the relationship between two variables and fit regression models to quantify the trend.
What is a Scatter Plot?¶
A scatter plot displays paired X/Y data as points on a chart, revealing relationships between two variables. You can add a regression line (linear, polynomial, logarithmic, power, or exponential) to model the trend, with full statistics including R², coefficients, and p-values. Enter an X value to predict Y using the fitted model.
When you have multiple X and Y columns, Quantum XL creates a scatter plot for each X/Y combination. You can also overlay multiple series on a single chart by sharing an X or Y axis.
When to Use a Scatter Plot¶
- When you want to explore the relationship between two numeric variables
- When you need to fit a regression model and assess goodness of fit (R², F-statistic, p-values)
- When you want to predict Y values from X using a fitted equation
- When you want to compare relationships across groups
Example Output¶
A typical scatter plot shows data points with an optional regression line (solid through the data range, dotted for extrapolation). A statistics table alongside displays R², adjusted R², standard error, F-statistic, and coefficient details. A yellow input cell lets you enter an X value to predict Y.
What the sheet records about your settings¶
The User input box in the top left of the worksheet does not only echo the columns you picked. Under a Settings heading it also states the options that produced the chart below it, so a sheet opened a year later says what it was built from rather than leaving you to guess which boxes were ticked.
This matters most where the choice leaves no other trace. Two Pareto charts drawn from the same data, one grouping the small categories into an "Others" bar and one dropping them, look like two different data sets unless the sheet says which was done.
Two rules decide what appears:
- Every selector and checkbox is printed on every run, whether or not you changed it from the default. A reader who sees nothing cannot tell a default from a setting the product does not report, so the box states all of them.
- A value you had to type is printed only when you typed it, and so is a setting that only means something once another box is ticked. Its absence is the answer.
The worksheet is protected¶
Under the last block in column A, in small italic text, the sheet carries one note:
This worksheet is protected to prevent accidental changes. To unprotect it, select the Review tab and then Unprotect Sheet.
Every analysis worksheet Quantum XL writes is protected, and every one carries this note. The wording is the same on all of them. Protection is there so that a click or a stray keystroke cannot overwrite a number the chart is drawn from, or move a chart off its anchor.
Three things are still allowed while the sheet is protected: formatting cells, formatting columns, and formatting rows. So you can widen a column, change a number format, or restyle a heading without unprotecting anything. Editing a value, editing a chart, and everything else are blocked.
For those, unprotect the sheet from Excel's Review tab, exactly as the note says. The protection carries no password, so Unprotect Sheet takes it straight off without asking for one.
Under Settings, this tool records:
| Row | What it reads |
|---|---|
| Extrapolate model | On or Off |
| Forward to X | the bound you typed, or Not set. Printed only when extrapolation is on |
| Backward to X | the same, on the other side |
The two bound rows are there because the axis is rounded for display, so the value you typed cannot be recovered from the chart afterwards.
Learn More¶
- How-To: Step-by-step tutorials for different scenarios
- Preparing Your Data: Data types, X/Y column rules, and the behavior matrix
- Options: Regression types, extrapolation, and data transformation settings