The mathematical sciences are full of rules and formal requirements that must be met to follow academic standards. One such requirement is the rules for working with data graphs, namely the appropriateness and desirability of connecting individual points with a single line or curve. In particular, individual points on a line graph can (and usually should) be connected, whereas points on a scatter plot should not be connected but should remain isolated from each other. In reality, the difference between a line graph and a scatter plot is in their nature. When we study a linear relationship, we suspect that there is a relationship between two variables that is detectable not only at the points but also between them (Linear graph, 2020). In other words, linearity is generally preserved throughout the function. In contrast, a scatter plot shows a set of individual points that are not connected (Scatter plot, 2020). These are discrete values that have no intermediate results, and therefore it is not appropriate to talk about connecting them.
References
Linear graph. (2020) CueMath. Web.
Scatter plot. (2020). CueMath. Web.