How to Plot Points on the TI-84 Evo

The TI-84 Evo plots a set of points as a scatter plot, reading the x-values from one list and the y-values from another.

Plot a set of points

We'll plot five points: (2, 3), (4, 8), (4, 5), (7, 9), and (9, 6). The x-values don't have to be in order or evenly spaced, and two points can share an x-value.

  1. Open the list editor. Press stat, then enter to choose 1:Edit. If the lists already have numbers from a previous problem, clear them first (see Clear a list below).
    The TI-84 Evo keyboard with the STAT key highlighted, below the X,T,theta,n key
  2. Type the x-values down L1, pressing enter after each: 2, 4, 4, 7, 9.
  3. Type the y-values down L2. Press the right arrow to jump to the top of L2, then enter each point's y-value next to its x: 3, 8, 5, 9, 6. Each row now holds one point, so the first point (2, 3) sits in row one.
    The TI-84 Evo STAT list editor with 2, 4, 4, 7, 9 in L1 and 3, 8, 5, 9, 6 in L2
  4. Turn on a scatter plot. Press 2nd then y= to open STAT PLOTS, choose Plot1, and press enter to turn it On. The scatter type and the L1/L2 lists are already set by default.
    The TI-84 Evo Plot1 setup screen with Plot On, scatter type selected, Xlist L1 and Ylist L2
  5. Frame the points with ZoomStat. Press zoom and choose 9:ZoomStat. It sets the window to fit your data, so every point shows on screen. (Pressing graph instead uses whatever window you had, which may not be centered on your points.)
    The TI-84 Evo screen showing five points plotted as a scatter after ZoomStat
  6. Read a point with trace. Press trace. The first point's coordinates show at the bottom (X=2, Y=3), and the right and left arrows hop from point to point.
    The TI-84 Evo tracing the scatter plot, cursor on the first point, reading X equals 2 and Y equals 3

Good to know

  • Connect the points into a line. Back on the Plot1 setup screen, move down to Type and pick the second icon instead of the scatter. Now ZoomStat draws a line from point to point in the order you entered them, which is what you want for a line graph of data.
    The same five points on the TI-84 Evo connected into a line graph with the second plot type
  • Clear a list to start over. In the list editor, arrow up onto the list's name at the very top of the column, press clear, then enter. The whole column empties, and the list itself stays put for new numbers.
  • A stray line through your points. If a line runs through your scatter, an old equation is still sitting in the y= list and drawing over the plot. Press y=, move to that line, press clear to delete it, then graph again and only your points remain.
  • Turn the plot off when you're done. A stat plot keeps drawing over whatever you graph next, so its dots can show up on an unrelated function. Press 2nd then y=, choose 4:PlotsOff, and press enter to switch every plot off.
  • New to graphing? The basics of the graph screen and window are in how to graph a function on the TI-84 Evo, and if you'd rather read your values as a column than as dots, see how to make a table of values.