2D Plots

Explore various 2D plots and subplots in MATLAB and Python.

A 2D plot, also known as a 2D plot, is a graphical representation of data in which the x-axis and y-axis represent two different variables. The data points are plotted on the graph according to their x and y values, visually representing the relationship between them. 2D plots can be used to display a wide range of information, including:

  • Mathematical functions

  • Scientific data

  • Financial trends

They are commonly used in fields such as statistics, engineering, and physics to analyze and understand complex data sets.

We are going to discuss the most common types of 2D plots in both environments.

2D line plot

A 2D line plot is a graph that displays data as a series of points connected by lines. The x-axis and y-axis represent two different variables, and the data points are plotted on the graph according to their x and y values. Line plots are commonly used to display trends over time or to show the relationship between two variables.

For example, in MATLAB, we use plot command to plot a 2D line plot as shown below.

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f = figure ();
plot([1,4,9,16,25])
title('My First Plot')
xlabel('Time')
ylabel('Value')
  • Line 1: We initialize a new figure object f using figure().

  • Line 2: We give an array as input to plot() to draw a 2D graph.

  • Line 3: We set a figure title using title() function.

  • Lines 4–5: We set labels of the x-axis and y-axis using xlabel() and ylabel().

In Python, we use pyplot from the mathplot module. The pyplot module provides an interface for creating a variety of different types of plots and charts. It provides a simple and convenient way to create plots and charts in Python by providing a set of functions that mimic the behavior of MATLAB’s plotting functions.

In the code below, we plot the same graph as we did above:

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import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.figure(dpi=300)
plt.plot([1,4,9,16,25])
plt.title('My First Plot')
plt.xlabel('Time')
plt.ylabel('Value')
  • Line 1: We import pyplot from matplotlib and set its object to plt.

  • Line 3: We create a new figure with dpi value of 300.

  • Line 4: We give a list as input to plot() function to draw a 2D graph.

  • Line 5: We set a figure title using title() function.

  • Lines 6–7: We set labels of the x-axis and y-axis using xlabel() and ylabel().

2D scatter plot

A 2D scatter plot is a graph used to display data as a series of individual points without lines connecting them. Scatter plots are commonly used to display the relationship between two variables and can be used to identify patterns or outliers in the data.

In MATLAB, we use plot command with markers for scatter plots. In ...

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