Lines of best fit
A line Forma works out for you is not checked. Work out the fit yourself, then give the line's two ends in the request, as the example does; those numbers are then checked like the rest.
Forma Visuals · Chart your data · For students and scientists
Plot your measurements, not someone else's.
Paste your measurements, say the plot you need, and get it back as a chart or a gnuplot script. Over the API and MCP, by default, Forma refuses a chart whose data holds a number you did not give it.
Try an example in the console
The playground allows illustrative values: any number your request does not give, Forma writes, and the answer says generated. Over the API and MCP, that request is refused unless it sets allow_generated_data.
01 Real answers
Scatter plots with error bars and lines of best fit for a lab report.
Scatter plot with a line of best fit in gnuplot
Twelve measurements and a straight line for a lab report, as a gnuplot script you can run and edit.
gnuplot
Bar chart with error bars
Group means as bars, with error bars from the low and high values in the request, for a report or a poster.
Vega-Lite
Histogram of measurements in gnuplot
Forty measurements, binned, for the results section of a lab report, as a gnuplot script you can run and edit.
gnuplot
Cooling curve line chart
Two conditions measured over the same times, one line each, for the classic cooling experiment.
Vega-Lite
“A scatter plot of car weight against fuel economy, two groups as separately coloured marker series with a legend. Petrol cars (weight in tonnes, mpg): (1.1, 38), (1.2, 35), (1.3, 33), (1.4, 31), (1.5, 29), (1.6, 27), (1.8, 24), (2.0, 21), (2.2, 19). Diesel cars: (1.2, 44), (1.4, 40), (1.5, 38), (1.7, 34), (1.9, 31), (2.1, 28), (2.3, 25). x axis: weight (tonnes), y axis: fuel economy (mpg). Title: Weight against fuel economy.”
valid · chart@6baf09f0
Try these with their values filled in:
- Scatter with error bars vega-lite
- Box plot by group vega-lite
The playground allows illustrative values: any number your request does not give, Forma writes, and the answer says generated. Over the API and MCP, that request is refused unless it sets allow_generated_data.
02 How it fits
Into the work you already do.
Getting it into a report
Run the gnuplot script yourself, or paste the code into the free editors, which download SVG and PNG.
03 What you still check
What a verdict does not tell you.
- Numbers the chart computes from yours, such as totals, averages or a calculated field, are not compared, and neither are row numbers that only count the rows.
- Labels and dates are not compared with your request, and the check does not confirm that every row is drawn or sits in the right place. Read the chart before you publish it.
04 Questions
Before you start.
Can I set the axis labels and units?
Say them in the request, such as “x axis: concentration (mM)”. Labels are not compared with your request, so read them before you hand it in.
Can I show error bars I calculated?
Yes. Give each low and high value in the request, as the example does, so the bars are drawn from your numbers.