Graphs 101

types of graphs

• bar graph

• double/multi bar graph

• line graph

• circle graph

• scatterplot

• histogram

• picto graph

strengths: bar graphs

• easily see popularity from bar heights

• easy to draw

weaknesses: bar graphs

• does’t show percentages for votes

• may be hard to read because bar heights don’t always end/meet grid lines

strengths: double/multi bar graph

• good for showing data of 2 sets

• easy to draw and read

weaknesses: double/multi bar graph

• can be overcrowded and might make it hard to compare data

strengths: line graph

• good for showing data over time (in a week, year or years)

• easy to draw and easy to read

weaknesses: line graph

• sometimes hard to predict patterns of points

strengths: circle graph

• good for showing data in parts of a whole

weaknesses: circle graph

• can’t see total number of votes per category

• can’t calculate total number of students/group of people voted

strengths: scatterplot

• good for showing relationships between independent and dependent variables

• identifies patterns, outliers and clusters

weaknesses: scatterplot

• could be too crowded/busy and hard to read (over plotting)

strengths: picto graph

• easy to read visually from the pictures

weaknesses: picto graph

• not ideal for detailed data sets

required parts for: bar graph

• title

• labels (on x and y axis)

• scale

• legend

• bars

required parts for: line graph

• title

• labels

• scales (on x and y axis)

• points/dots

• line connecting dots/points

required parts for: circle graph

• title

• legend

• labels

• percentages

required parts for: scatterplot

• title

• scale (on x and y axis)

• labels

• line of best fit

• dots/points of data

something that makes a graph misleading

inconsistent scale/scale not starting at 0