Question

In MATLAB, you are asked to create three plots: one for 2*cos(x), one for sin(x)*cos(y), and one for sin(x)*e^(-y). What type of plot is typically used to visualize these functions?

A) Scatter plot
B) Line plot
C) Contour plot
D) Bar plot

Answer 1

A line plot is best for visualizing the function 2*cos(x), while contour plots are most suitable for the functions sin(x)*cos(y) and sin(x)*e^(-y) in MATLAB.

Step-by-step explanation:

To visualize the functions 2*cos(x), sin(x)*cos(y), and sin(x)*e^(-y) in MATLAB, different types of plots are typically used. For the function 2*cos(x), a line plot is ideally employed because it represents how one variable varies with another, which is suitable for displaying the variation of cosine over the domain of x. For the two-variable functions sin(x)*cos(y) and sin(x)*e^(-y), a contour plot is generally the best choice because it can represent the relationship between two independent variables and how they map to a dependent variable over a two-dimensional domain.

Line plots are specifically designed to show trends over time or relationships between two variables, such as in the case of 2*cos(x). Contour plots, on the other hand, are useful for visualizing data where a z-value exists for a grid of x and y points, as is the case for sin(x)*cos(y) and sin(x)*e^(-y), highlighting levels of magnitude or concentration in a spatial context. In this scenario, a line plot will be used to visualize 2*cos(x), and contour plots will be used to display sin(x)*cos(y) and sin(x)*e^(-y).