Length of Day
This bivariate data set tells us the length of the day (time in minutes the sun is above the horizon) in Northern Vermont University - Johnson throughout the year. For instance on New Years Day (day 1) the length of the day is 529 minutes. The word "bivariate" means that there are two variables in the data set, and they are linked. The raw data is in the right pane, and the data is plotted on the left. This is similar to how the data about the height of the incoming missile was presented at the start of the text.
One thing that you should notice though is that on the 366th day of the year, the length of the day is the same as it was on day 1. If you think about it though, this is exactly as it should be, since the 366th day of the year, is really the FIRST day of next year. That's why row 8 and row 2 both show 529 minute days. The data doesn't got beyond day 366, but if it did, we'd see that the length of the day would oscillate in the range between about 500 and 1000 minutes.
Can you guess a function g(x) that models this data? I would guess not, but feel free to try! Type your guesses into the input bar as
g(x)=CODE. Move ahead when you're ready to see how Geogebra can generate a functional model for you.