Graphing practice test → · 8 questions · about 30 minutes · bar, line, scatter & pie
THE GRAPH WORKSHOP
Make the data make sense.
Start small. Build a graph. Find its story.
SCATTER ⠿
PIE ◔
A FIRST LOOK AT GRAPHS
Three ways to tell a data story
Interactive graph building needs JavaScript. These directions and the printable packet still work.
Scale: equally spaced marks need equal number jumps. Eight intervals worth 5 each reach 40. Your scale must fit every measurement.
Line graph: follow the same thing over time. Put time on the horizontal axis, plot each pair, then join neighboring points in time order.
| Day | Height (cm) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 4 |
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 12 |
Which two days have the same height? How much did the seedling grow from day 0 to day 3?
Scatter plot: each dot is a pair of measurements. Keep pairs together, leave dots unconnected, and look for an overall pattern. A pattern alone does not prove a cause.
Pie graph: show parts of one whole. A circle has 100 equal parts, each worth 1%. Fifty out of 100 items take half the circle. For other totals, percent = count ÷ total × 100.
Check the seedling example
Days 2 and 3 both show 12 cm. The increase is 12 − 4 = 8 cm. The line is flat between days 2 and 3.
Paper for later in the week
Monday is entirely on the website. Use these when your teacher assigns paper practice.