Need help with subplot

Instructions:
Create a MATLAB function called plot05 that generates a 3x1 matrix of subplots, where yi = sin(x*i*π) appears in the ith subplot and i = 1, 2, 3. Define the length of the guitar string to be an array of 100 equally spaced values over the interval [0, 1]. Plot the first harmonic in subplot 1 and set the linewidth property to 1. Plot the second harmonic in subplot 2 and set the linewidth property to 2. And plot the third harmonic in subplot 3 and set the linewidth property to 3.
so i need to create a subplot that looks like this:
but my graph is way off--what is wrong with my code?
function [y] = plot05(x,i)
x= 0:.01:1
i= [ 1 2 3]
y = sin (x.' * i .* pi)
hold on
x = 0:.01:1;
subplot(3,3,1);
linewidth = 1;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',linewidth)
hold off
hold on
x = 0:0.01:1;
subplot(3,3,4);
linewidth = 2;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',linewidth)
hold off
hold on
x = 0:0.01:1;
subplot(3,3,7);
linewidth = 3;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',linewidth)
hold off

 Accepted Answer

Matt Fig
Matt Fig on 15 Oct 2012
Edited: Matt Fig on 15 Oct 2012
x = 0:.01:pi;
subplot(3,1,1)
plot(x,sin(x))
subplot(3,1,2)
plot(x,sin(x*3))
subplot(3,1,3)
plot(x,sin(x*6))
Think of the arguments to SUBPLOT as setting up a grid. You want a 3-by-1 grid, so the first two arguments to subplot should be 3,1. The third argument is which of the axes on that grid you want to create. So when you say subplot(3,1,3) you are asking subplot to create the third axes on a 3-by-1 grid. This lets you do neat things like this:
x = 0:.01:pi;
subplot(3,1,1)
plot(x,sin(x))
subplot(3,1,2)
plot(x,sin(x*pi))
subplot(3,2,5)
plot(x,sin(x*2*pi))
subplot(3,2,6)
plot(x,sin(x*3*pi))

1 Comment

Ping
Ping on 15 Oct 2012
thanks! The lines are a bit different than from the graph but i think I can figure it out from here.

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More Answers (2)

Wayne King
Wayne King on 15 Oct 2012
Edited: Wayne King on 15 Oct 2012
Because you want
subplot(3,1,1)
subplot(3,1,2)
and not
subplot(3,3, ...)
subplot(3,3, ) means 3 rows and 3 columns, you just want 3 rows and 1 column
Try this:
x= 0:.01:1
i= [ 1 2 3]
y = sin (x.' * i .* pi)
hold on
x = 0:.01:1;
subplot(3,3,1:3);
linewidth = 1;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',linewidth)
x = 0:0.01:1;
subplot(3,3,4:6);
linewidth = 2;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',linewidth)
x = 0:0.01:1;
subplot(3,3,7:9);
linewidth = 3;
plot(x,y,'LineWidth',linewidth)
% Enlarge figure to full screen.
set(gcf, 'units','normalized','outerposition',[0 0 1 1]);

3 Comments

Image Analyst
Image Analyst on 15 Oct 2012
Edited: Image Analyst on 15 Oct 2012
The key was doing 1:3, 4:6, and 7:9 to get all three slots in the row. Of course you could do subplot(3,1,1) which works okay in this case but sometimes you want to mix things up like have the top plot be three wide and have 6 single wide plots below it. So that's why using a range gives you additional flexibility that you might want to know about, and might need at some point. Also, your "hold" commands were unnecessary.
Ping
Ping on 15 Oct 2012
thanks! I got 3 different subplots just like in the picture. But how do I get 3 separate lines? My 3 graphs all have 3 lines on each plot instead of 1 line per plot.
make i 1, 2, or 3, not an array [1 2 3].

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Asked:

on 15 Oct 2012

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