Communicating with Graphs

Graph—a visual display of information or data; 3 main kinds

Line Graphs—used to show a trend or a relationship between the independent and dependent variables

· The x-axis (horizontal) is always for the independent variable

· The y-axis (vertical) is always for the dependent variable

· The scale should be consistent and readable

Bar Graphs—used to show and compare information collected by counting, usually do not show trends.

· The x-axis (horizontal) is used to show the category

· The y-axis (vertical) is used to show how many or how much

· Columns are not connected.

Circle Graphs (Pie Charts)—used to show percentages; how a whole is broken into parts

· Makes it easy to see which section is the largest, which ones are smallest.