In a scatter plot, what does each point represent?

In a scatter plot, each point represents a single data point for two variables. This visualization technique is used to display the relationship between the two variables by plotting them on a two-dimensional graph, with one variable assigned to the x-axis and the other to the y-axis. Each point's position reflects the values of both variables for a particular observation, allowing viewers to assess patterns, trends, or correlations that may exist in the data. This makes scatter plots particularly useful for examining how changes in one variable might affect another.

In contrast, categories of data do not represent individual observations and therefore are not suitable for a scatter plot. Similarly, a scatter plot does not display average values or trends over time, as it focuses on individual points rather than summarizing data over a specified period or providing generalized trends.