Slope
Rise/Run = Δy/Δx; slope = rate of change
Area Under Curve
Represents accumulated quantity (distance, work, impulse)
Linear (y = mx + b)
Straight line, constant slope
Exponential
Curves up (growth) or down (decay); ln plot → straight line
Inverse
Hyperbola shape; xy = constant
Logarithmic
Rises quickly then levels off; log plot → straight line
Error Bars
Non-overlapping → likely significant. Overlapping → likely not.
95% CI for a Difference
If the CI includes 0, the effect is not significant at α=0.05.
Significance ≠ Effect Size
Large n can make tiny differences "significant"; small n can hide real ones.
SE vs SD
SE = SD/√n. Use SE bars to judge significance, not SD.
