3D surface plots in Matplotlib - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a 3D surface plot?

A 3D surface plot is a graph that shows a three-dimensional surface. It helps us see how two variables affect a third variable by drawing a surface in 3D space.

beginner

Which matplotlib module is used to create 3D surface plots?

The mpl_toolkits.mplot3d module is used to create 3D plots, including surface plots, in matplotlib.

beginner

What function in matplotlib creates a 3D surface plot?

The plot_surface() function of a 3D axis object creates a 3D surface plot.

intermediate

How do you prepare data for a 3D surface plot?

You create two 2D arrays for the X and Y coordinates using numpy.meshgrid(). Then calculate the Z values for each (X, Y) pair.

intermediate

How can you change the color of a 3D surface plot?

You can use the cmap parameter in plot_surface() to set a color map, like cmap='viridis' or cmap='coolwarm'.

Which function creates a grid of X and Y values for 3D surface plots?

A numpy.meshgrid()

B numpy.linspace()

C matplotlib.plot_surface()

D matplotlib.figure()

numpy.meshgrid() creates coordinate matrices from coordinate vectors, needed for 3D surface plots.

What does the Z array represent in a 3D surface plot?

A The color map

B The X coordinates

C The Y coordinates

D The height values for each (X, Y) point

Z holds the values that define the surface height at each X and Y coordinate.

Which import is necessary to enable 3D plotting in matplotlib?

A from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d import Axes3D

B import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

C import numpy as np

D from matplotlib import cm

The Axes3D class from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d enables 3D plotting.

How do you add a 3D subplot to a matplotlib figure?

A fig.add_subplot(111)

B plt.subplot(111)

C fig.add_subplot(111, projection='3d')

D plt.figure(3d=True)

Use projection='3d' to create a 3D subplot.

Which parameter controls the color style of a 3D surface plot?

A color

B cmap

C style

D palette

The cmap parameter sets the color map for the surface.

Explain the steps to create a 3D surface plot using matplotlib.

Think about data preparation, figure setup, and plotting function.

Describe how changing the color map affects a 3D surface plot.

Consider how colors help show data differences.