Ternary Line, Scatter, and Line/Scatter Plots

Click the Home | New Graph | Ternary | Ternary Scatter Plot, Home | New Graph | Ternary | Ternary Line/Scatter Plot, or Home | New Graph | Ternary | Ternary Line Plot command to represent relative percentages in a three-component system. Ternary diagrams are frequently used in chemistry and earth sciences to illustrate rock classification schemes and depict chemical compositions on phase diagrams. For example, if you were analyzing the composition of a soil sample, you could use a ternary diagram to illustrate the relative percentages of three minerals found in the sample.

Click the Ternary Scatter Plot, Ternary Line/Scatter Plot, or Ternary Line Plot buttons to create ternary diagrams with lines and symbols.

To plot data on a ternary diagram, the sum of the three data points (X + Y + Z) in any row must equal 100 percent. If the sum does not equal 100 percent you must normalize your data so that it meets this requirement, otherwise Grapher normalizes the data when it is plotted. Once this relationship has been established between the data points, you need only know the values of any two data points in order to determine the third. Reading a point on a ternary diagrams can be done by looking at the location of each point as it relates to the three axes.

You can add a line connecting the points in a ternary diagram. The line connects the data in the order it appears in the data file. To add a line, open the Line tab in the Property Manager, and then select a line style other than Invisible.

2D Ternary Diagram
Ternary diagrams show percentages
in a three-component system.

Creating a New Ternary Diagram

To create a ternary diagram:

  1. Click the Home | New Graph | Ternary | Ternary Scatter Plot, Home | New Graph | Ternary | Ternary Line/Scatter Plot, or Home | New Graph | Ternary | Ternary Line Plot command.
  2. Select a data file in the Open Worksheet dialog. You can select a new data file or you can select an open data file in the Open worksheets section.
  3. Click the Open button. A ternary diagram is created using the default properties.

Editing Ternary Diagram Properties

To change the features of a ternary diagram, including the columns used to create the diagram, open the ternary diagram properties by selecting the ternary diagram and editing the properties in the Property Manager. The properties available depend on the type of graph.

Click the following tabs in the Property Manager to change different properties:

Plot

Data Limits

Labels

Title

Symbol

Line

See Also

Reading Ternary Diagrams

Ternary Class Scatter Plot

Add Plots

Legends

Multi-Graph Legends

Graph Title

List Worksheets

Move Labels

Graph Wizard