We often come across situations when two numerical values are somehow related to each other, without any one-to-one correlation between the two numbers. For example, the height and weight of an individual. With increasing height, it is normal for the weight to increase. There are several everyday situations when we can find the same correlation between two numeric values. 

If you are working in a spreadsheet program like Google Sheets, the best way you can plot the values in a graph is by using a scatter plot graph. Just like other types of graphs in Google Sheets, it is also possible to do a scatter plot in Google Sheets. The process is easier than you might think.

So, without any further delay, let’s get started with how to do a scatter plot in Google Sheets.

Steps to do a scatter plot in Google Sheets

Open Google Sheets, and enter the values. You can alternatively open a sheet containing the values.

In the screenshot below, we have a sheet that has data that has the age and weight of some unknown individuals, and we want to use a scatter plot to establish the correlation between height and weight.

Select the data, i.e. the cells containing the values, click on ‘Insert’, and hence click on ‘Chart’.

It is possible that Google Sheets will automatically recognize the data and will present a scatter plot based on the values.

However, if this is not the case, click on the triple-dot menu on the top right corner of the chart, and click on ‘Edit chart’.

In the ‘Setup’ tab, click on the drop-down menu corresponding to ‘Chart type’ and select ‘Scatter chart’.

You can also choose which one you want to plot across X-axis, by clicking on the button below ‘X-axis’.

So, that’s basically how to do a scatter plot in Google Sheets. If you want to customize the graph, simply click on the ‘Customize’ tab.

Here you can change the color of the dots in the ‘Series’ drop-down menu. Apart from the color of the dots, there are other aspects too, that you can edit.

In the ‘Chart style’, you can set the background and border color, font, etc.

You can customize the horizontal and vertical axes, gridlines, etc., by clicking on the respective drop-down menus.

The customization options in the case of scatter plots are just like any other chart customization options available in Google Sheets. 

So, that’s all about how to do a scatter plot in Google Sheets. Do you have any further questions regarding the topic? Feel free to comment on the same below.