KaleidaGuide 1.2:
A QUICK GUIDE TO "KALEIDAGRAPH 3.0.8
on the Macintosh
This very sketchy guide is intended to show you how to:
- Start the program.
- Enter some data: x, y, and s,
the error in y.
- Calculate a function of the data.
- Draw a labeled graph of the data showing the error bars.
- Fit the data to a function y = f(x,..mj...)
adjusting the constants mj to minimize
s2, and obtain the errors in the
mj.
For more details of the many things you can do with the program,
consult the "Help" menu or (if all else fails) the manual.
To start the program:
- Pull down the "Apple" menu on the top right corner of the screen,
scrolling down until the "Kaleidagraph 3.0.8" icon is highlighted.
Release the mouse button and the program should execute.
To enter, save and print data:
- Type in the independent variable values xi in column 0,
hitting "Return" after each value. After entering the xi,
use the arrow keys
or the mouse to move the cursor to the next column. Enter the dependent
variable values, the yi, in column 1 and the errors,
si, in column 2.
- Re-label the columns (e.g. x, y, sigma,.. instead of A, B, C,..) using
the "Data" menu by scrolling down to the "Column Format" item. Move from
one column to another using the mouse in the "Column Format" sub-menu.
- Save the data in your folder in the "Students Put Your Files Here" folder,
giving them a more informative title than "Data 1", by moving to the "File"
menu and scrolling down to "Save Data As...". This produces a dialog box
in which you should click on the name of your own folder.
- The "File" menu also allows you to "Print Data".
To make a new column which is a function of the other
columns:
- Open the "Windows" menu and scroll to "Formula Entry".
- In the pop-up sub-menu, enter your formula: e.g.
c3 = 12*exp(-c1/c0) produces c3 (i.e. column 3) from columns 0 and 1;
then click on "Run".
To plot the data:
- Choose "Gallery", then "Linear", then "Scatter". In the pop-up menu,
assign the appropriate column names as X and Y. Then click on "New Plot".
- In the "Plot" menu, click on "Error bars"; then, in the pop-up, choose
"Y err". In the next pop-up, choose "From data column" ... to display
the uncertainties, si, as
error bars on the graph.
To fit the data:
- In the "Curve Fit" menu, choose "General" and "New Fit".
In the resulting pop-up, clicking on "Define" gives a pop-up in which
you write the fitting formula; after which you write your initial guesses
for the adjustable constants m1=2.5; m2=1;..., separated by semicolons.
The quantity m0 in the formula represents the independent variable, x.
After defining the formula, click on the "Weight Data" box. On leaving
the formula pop-up, choose e.g. the yi column to be fitted and
the si column for the "Weights".
The program will then fit the data.
- If "Display Equation" is checked in the "plot" menu, you will see a table
of c2, etc.
Make sure c2 is reasonable.
If not, check your data, particularly the s
i.
- Print the graph using the "File" menu.