Axis control and formatting in MATLAB - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the output of this axis limit setting?

Consider the following MATLAB code snippet that plots a sine wave and sets axis limits. What will be the x-axis limits after running this code?

MATLAB

x = linspace(0, 2*pi, 100);
y = sin(x);
plot(x, y);
axis([0 pi -1 1]);
xl = xlim;

A [0 2]

B [0 6.2832]

C [-1 1]

D [0 3.1416]

💡 Hint

The axis function sets limits as [xmin xmax ymin ymax].

The axis command sets the x-axis limits to 0 and pi (approximately 3.1416). The xlim function returns these limits.

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the y-axis tick labels after formatting?

Given the code below, what will be the y-axis tick labels displayed on the plot?

MATLAB

y = [10 20 30 40 50];
plot(y);
yticks([10 30 50]);
yticklabels({'Low', 'Medium', 'High'});

A Low, Medium, High

B 10, 30, 50

C 1, 2, 3

D 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

💡 Hint

yticklabels replaces numeric tick labels with strings.

The yticks function sets ticks at 10, 30, and 50. The yticklabels function replaces these numeric labels with 'Low', 'Medium', and 'High'.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this axis command cause an error?

The following MATLAB code attempts to set axis limits but causes an error. Identify the cause.

MATLAB

x = 1:10;
y = x.^2;
plot(x, y);
axis([0 10]);

A x and y vectors have different lengths

B axis requires four values [xmin xmax ymin ymax], but only two are given

C plot function syntax is incorrect

D axis limits must be positive numbers only

💡 Hint

Check the number of elements inside the axis brackets.

The axis function expects four values to set x and y limits. Providing only two values causes an error.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

Which command freezes the axis limits to prevent automatic changes?

In MATLAB, after plotting data, which command prevents the axis limits from changing when new plots are added?

A axis equal

B axis tight

C axis manual

D axis auto

💡 Hint

Think about how to stop MATLAB from adjusting axis limits automatically.

The 'axis manual' command freezes the current axis limits so they do not change when new data is plotted.

❓ Predict Output

expert

What is the number of x-axis ticks after this code runs?

Given the code below, how many tick marks will appear on the x-axis?

MATLAB

x = linspace(0, 10, 100);
y = sin(x);
plot(x, y);
xticks(0:2:10);

A 6

B 5

C 11

D 10

💡 Hint

Count the numbers from 0 to 10 stepping by 2.

The xticks command sets ticks at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, which is 6 ticks total.