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Exercise

Aspect ratio II: setting ratios

When values are not on the same scale it can be a bit tricky to set an appropriate aspect ratio. A classic William Cleveland (inventor of dot plots) example is the sunspots data set. We have 3200 observations from 1750 to 2016.

sun_plot is a plot without any set aspect ratio. It fills up the graphics device.

To make aspect ratios clear, we've drawn an orange box that is 75 units high and 75 years wide. Using a 1:1 aspect ratio would make the box square. That aspect ratio would make things harder to see the oscillations: it is better to force a wider ratio.

Instructions 1/2
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    • Fix the coordinates to a 1:1 aspect ratio.
    • 2

      The y axis is now unreadably small. Make it bigger!

      • Change the aspect ratio to 20:1. This is the aspect ratio recommended by Cleveland to help make the trend among oscillations easiest to see.