Scatter plots in Excel - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants to understand the relationship between advertising spend and sales revenue across different months.

📊 Data: You have monthly data showing advertising spend in dollars and sales revenue in dollars for the past 12 months.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a scatter plot chart in Excel that shows advertising spend on the X-axis and sales revenue on the Y-axis to visualize their relationship.

Sample Data

Month	Advertising Spend ($)	Sales Revenue ($)
Jan	5000	20000
Feb	7000	25000
Mar	6000	22000
Apr	8000	27000
May	7500	26000
Jun	9000	30000
Jul	8500	28000
Aug	9500	32000
Sep	7000	24000
Oct	6500	23000
Nov	8000	27000
Dec	10000	35000

1

Step 1: Select the data range including the Advertising Spend and Sales Revenue columns (B1:C13).

Expected Result

Cells B1 to C13 are selected.

2

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab on the Excel ribbon.

Expected Result

Insert tab is open.

3

Step 3: Click on the Scatter chart icon in the Charts group.

Expected Result

Scatter chart options appear.

4

Step 4: Choose the first Scatter chart option (Scatter with only Markers).

Expected Result

A scatter plot appears on the worksheet showing Advertising Spend on the X-axis and Sales Revenue on the Y-axis.

5

Step 5: Add chart title by clicking on the chart title area and typing 'Advertising Spend vs Sales Revenue'.

Expected Result

Chart title is set to 'Advertising Spend vs Sales Revenue'.

6

Step 6: Label the X-axis by clicking on the horizontal axis title and typing 'Advertising Spend ($)'.

Expected Result

X-axis is labeled 'Advertising Spend ($)'.

7

Step 7: Label the Y-axis by clicking on the vertical axis title and typing 'Sales Revenue ($)'.

Expected Result

Y-axis is labeled 'Sales Revenue ($)'.

Final Result

Scatter Plot: Advertising Spend vs Sales Revenue

Y-axis (Sales Revenue $)
|
|        *        *
|      *    *   *  *
|    *              *
|  *                 *
|*                    *
+-----------------------------> X-axis (Advertising Spend $)

✓There is a positive relationship between advertising spend and sales revenue.

✓Higher advertising spend generally corresponds to higher sales revenue.

✓The scatter plot helps visualize how sales increase as advertising investment grows.

Bonus Challenge

Add a trendline to the scatter plot to show the overall trend between advertising spend and sales revenue.

Show Hint

Right-click on any data point in the scatter plot, select 'Add Trendline', and choose 'Linear'.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of a scatter plot in Excel?

easy

A. To show the relationship between two sets of numbers using dots

B. To display data as a pie chart

C. To calculate the sum of numbers in a column

D. To sort data alphabetically

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand scatter plot basics

   A scatter plot uses dots to show how two sets of numbers relate to each other.

2. Step 2: Compare options to definition

   Only To show the relationship between two sets of numbers using dots describes this correctly; others describe different chart types or functions.

3. Final Answer:

   To show the relationship between two sets of numbers using dots -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Scatter plot = relationship with dots [OK]

Hint: Scatter plots show dots for two number sets [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing scatter plots with pie charts
• Thinking scatter plots sort data
• Believing scatter plots calculate sums

2. Which of these is the correct way to insert a scatter plot in Excel?

easy

A. Select data, then go to Insert > Scatter Chart

B. Select data, then press Ctrl + S

C. Select data, then go to Home > Conditional Formatting

D. Select data, then right-click and choose Sort

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Excel menu for charts

   Scatter plots are inserted via the Insert tab under Scatter Chart options.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   Ctrl + S saves, Conditional Formatting colors cells, Sort arranges data; none insert charts.

3. Final Answer:

   Select data, then go to Insert > Scatter Chart -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Insert > Scatter Chart = correct way [OK]

Hint: Use Insert tab to add scatter plots [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using save shortcut instead of chart insert
• Confusing formatting with chart insertion
• Trying to sort data to create charts

3. Given data in columns A and B: A1=1, A2=2, A3=3; B1=2, B2=4, B3=6. What pattern will the scatter plot show?

medium

A. A curve bending downward

B. A straight line showing a positive linear relationship

C. Random dots with no clear pattern

D. Dots clustered at zero

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the data pairs

   Pairs are (1,2), (2,4), (3,6). B values are double A values, showing a linear pattern.

2. Step 2: Understand scatter plot pattern

   Since B increases proportionally with A, dots form a straight line with positive slope.

3. Final Answer:

   A straight line showing a positive linear relationship -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Doubling values = straight positive line [OK]

Hint: Check if one column doubles the other for linear line [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming random scatter without checking values
• Thinking the line curves without data reason
• Ignoring proportional increase in values

4. You created a scatter plot but the dots are missing. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. You forgot to save the file

B. Chart type chosen was Pie Chart instead of Scatter

C. Excel file is corrupted

D. Data selected includes empty or non-numeric cells

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify common scatter plot issues

   Scatter plots require numeric data; empty or text cells cause no dots to appear.

2. Step 2: Evaluate other options

   Pie chart would show a different chart, file corruption or saving issues don't cause missing dots specifically.

3. Final Answer:

   Data selected includes empty or non-numeric cells -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Non-numeric data = no dots [OK]

Hint: Ensure all selected data cells have numbers [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing wrong chart type but expecting scatter dots
• Blaming file corruption without checking data
• Thinking saving affects chart display immediately

5. You have monthly sales data in column A and advertising spend in column B. How can you use a scatter plot to find if higher advertising spend increases sales?

hard

A. Plot sales and advertising spend both on Y-axis

B. Create a pie chart of sales percentages

C. Plot sales on Y-axis and advertising spend on X-axis to see correlation

D. Sort the data by sales before plotting

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand axes roles in scatter plots

   Independent variable (advertising spend) goes on X-axis; dependent (sales) on Y-axis to check influence.

2. Step 2: Evaluate options for correct plotting

   Plotting both on Y-axis or pie chart won't show relationship; sorting data doesn't create scatter plot.

3. Final Answer:

   Plot sales on Y-axis and advertising spend on X-axis to see correlation -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Independent X, dependent Y shows correlation [OK]

Hint: Put cause on X-axis, effect on Y-axis [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Plotting both variables on same axis
• Using pie chart instead of scatter plot
• Sorting data instead of plotting relationship