Multiple plots (hold on) in MATLAB - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Multiple plots using hold on in MATLAB

📖 Scenario: You are working on a simple data visualization project where you want to compare two sets of data on the same graph. This is common when you want to see how two trends relate to each other over the same range.

🎯 Goal: Build a MATLAB script that plots two different lines on the same graph using hold on. This will help you visualize both data sets together clearly.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create two vectors of data points

Plot the first data set using the plot function

Use hold on to keep the first plot visible

Plot the second data set on the same graph

Add labels for the x-axis and y-axis

Add a legend to distinguish the two plots

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Plotting multiple data sets on the same graph is useful in science, engineering, and business to compare trends and relationships clearly.

💼 Career

Data visualization skills like plotting multiple lines help in roles such as data analyst, engineer, and researcher to communicate insights effectively.

1

Create the data vectors

Create two vectors called x and y1. Set x to the values [1 2 3 4 5] and y1 to the values [2 4 6 8 10].

MATLAB

% Create vectors x and y1 with the specified values
% Your code here

Need a hint?

Use square brackets to create vectors in MATLAB, like x = [1 2 3].

2

Add the second data vector

Create a second vector called y2 with the values [1 3 5 7 9].

MATLAB

x = [1 2 3 4 5];
y1 = [2 4 6 8 10];
% Create vector y2 with the specified values
% Your code here

Need a hint?

Remember to use square brackets to create the vector.

3

Plot the first data set and hold the plot

Use plot(x, y1) to plot the first data set. Then use hold on to keep the plot active for adding more data.

MATLAB

x = [1 2 3 4 5];
y1 = [2 4 6 8 10];
y2 = [1 3 5 7 9];
% Plot y1 vs x
% Use hold on to keep the plot
% Your code here

Need a hint?

Use plot(x, y1) to draw the first line and hold on to keep the figure ready for more plots.

4

Plot the second data set and add labels and legend

Plot the second data set using plot(x, y2). Then add x-axis label 'X values', y-axis label 'Y values', and a legend with labels 'Data 1' and 'Data 2'. Finally, use hold off to finish plotting.

MATLAB

x = [1 2 3 4 5];
y1 = [2 4 6 8 10];
y2 = [1 3 5 7 9];
plot(x, y1);
hold on;
% Plot y2 vs x
% Add labels and legend
% Use hold off
% Your code here

Need a hint?

Use xlabel, ylabel, and legend functions to add descriptions. Use hold off to stop adding plots.