this is gonna sound really stupid...
but i'm making a scatter plot
and i'm measuring height and distance (disatnce is affected by height)
which one do i put on x axis?
Not a stupid question at all! Choosing which variable to plot on the x-axis and which to plot on the y-axis depends on the purpose of your scatter plot. Generally, the independent variable (the variable you believe is affecting or influencing the other) is plotted on the x-axis, and the dependent variable (the variable you are studying or measuring) is plotted on the y-axis.
In your case, you mentioned that distance is affected by height. If you believe that height is the independent variable and it directly affects the distance, then you should put distance on the y-axis and height on the x-axis. This way, you can visually analyze how the height is related to the resulting distances.
However, it's important to note that the choice of which variable goes on which axis is ultimately up to you and what makes most sense for your research question or analysis. So, if you have a different rationale or need a different perspective, feel free to swap the variables on the axes.