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6. Mars and Neptune

This section offers you further opportunity to use Excel’s Trendline to find the curve of best fit.

Because the gravity is different on different planets, your weight will be different on different planets (your mass will remain the same).

The Excel worksheets below will convert a weight on Earth (x), to the corresponding weight M(x) on Mars and N(x) on Neptune.

Your task is to use Excel’s Trendline to find the formulae Excel is using, and then use these formulae to predict M(78) and N(78). Answers are also provided in Excel.

We can use technology regression tools to find the formulae not only for approximate data, but also to find exact formulae instead of using algebraic methods. For exact formulae the predicted value (y') is equal to the observed value (y), so all errors yy' = 0 and R2 = 1.

The Excel workbook below contains separate worksheets (click on the TABS at the bottom of the window) for the following tables of data. In each case, find the formula y = f(x) in two ways: using algebraic methods (or you can just see it), and using Excel’s Trendline.

Use the one method to check the other.
Use the formulae to find the missing values – enter your values in Excel and Excel will give you feedback.

1.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
1
4
9
16
25
36
49
 
 
2.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
1
3
7
9
11
13
15
 
       
3.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
3
6
11
18
27
38
51
 
 
4.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
1
3
6
10
15
21
28
 
       
5.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
2
10
30
68
127
218
350
 
 
6.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
27
24
21
18
15
12
9
 
       
7.
x
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
20
y
6
12
24
48
96
192
394
 
8.
x
0
20
40
60
80
90
100
35
y
32
68
104
140
176
194
212
 

Click here to open the Excel Formulae tool: