Why does polyfit gives two outputs?

Illustration
Rahul - 2023-07-01T10:50:39+00:00
Question: Why does polyfit gives two outputs?

Hi, I want to plot a line passing through a set of points, which is as in the code below.   To determine the slope I used polyfit.   But it gives two outputs.   I wonder which output I should consider out of the two outputs it is giving me? clc; clear; phi_1 = [0.1724*pi 0.1472*pi 2.18*pi 2.25*pi 4*pi 3.588*pi 1.012*pi 4.112*pi 4.31*pi 4.25*pi 0.832*pi]; x1 = linspace(0,1,11); figure(1) plot(x1,phi_1,'o'); coefficients1=polyfit(x1,phi_1,1) slope1=coefficients1(1); coefficients1=polyfit(x1,phi_1,1) coefficients1 = 1×2 7.6641 3.8373 slope1=coefficients1(1);  

Expert Answer

Profile picture of Neeta Dsouza Neeta Dsouza answered . 2025-11-20

The first line of the function description on the documentation for polyfit states precisely what those outputs are.
They are the coefficients of the descending powers of the fitted polynomial. You asked for a 1st-order polynomial, so the first element of the output is the coefficient of the linear (1st-order) term, and the second element of the output is the coefficient of the intercept (the 0th-order term).
 
 
clc;
clear;
phi_1 = [0.1724*pi  0.1472*pi  2.18*pi  2.25*pi  4*pi  3.588*pi  1.012*pi  4.112*pi  4.31*pi  4.25*pi  0.832*pi];
x1 = linspace(0,1,11);
coefficients1=polyfit(x1,phi_1,1)
coefficients1 = 1×2
    7.6641    3.8373
slope1=coefficients1(1);
intercept1=coefficients1(2)
intercept1 = 3.8373
 

polyfit-gives-two-outputs


Not satisfied with the answer ?? ASK NOW

Get a Free Consultation or a Sample Assignment Review!