PHET Interactive Simulations: Curve Fitting
Topics
Polynomials
Error Analysis
Data
Description
Drag data points and their error bars and watch the best-fit polynomial curve update instantly. You choose the type of fit: linear, quadratic, or cubic. The reduced chi-square statistic shows you when the fit is good. Or you can try to find the best fit by manually adjusting fit parameters.
Sample Learning Goals
Explain how the range and uncertainty and number of data points affect correlation coefficient and chi squared
Describe how correlation coefficient and chi squared can be used to indicate how well a curve describes the data relationship
Apply understanding of Curve Fitting to designing experiments