Representing data
A list of numbers is hard to read. A well-drawn picture can be understood at a glance. Each type of graph suits a different type of data: choosing the right one is just as important as drawing it well.
Pictogram
A pictogram uses a simple picture to represent a fixed number of data values. You must always state the key (how much each symbol is worth).
In a 1st-year ESO class, a survey was carried out on the students' favourite video game genre. Look at the following bar chart and answer the questions: a) Which video…
In a 1st-year ESO class, a survey was carried out on the students' favourite video game genre. Look at the following bar chart and answer the questions:
- a) Which video game genre do students like the most (the mode)?
- b) How many students prefer adventure games?
- c) If we sum all the responses, how many students took part in the survey?
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
A group of friends wants to organise a trip and has asked $40$ classmates about their preferred destination. The results are shown in the following table: | Destination…
A group of friends wants to organise a trip and has asked $40$ classmates about their preferred destination. The results are shown in the following table:
| Destination | Absolute Frequency ($f_i$) |
|---|---|
| Beach | $15$ |
| Mountains | $10$ |
| European City | $10$ |
| Adventure (Campsite) | $5$ |
To represent these data in a pie chart, calculate the angle corresponding to each sector. Remember that the total sum of the angles must be $360^\circ$.
Bar chart
Used for qualitative or discrete quantitative variables. Each value has a bar whose height equals its frequency. The bars are drawn separately, with gaps between them.
A group of friends noted down how many pieces of fruit they eat per week. They represented the data in this pictogram, where each fruit symbol 🍎 represents $3$ pieces of…
A group of friends noted down how many pieces of fruit they eat per week. They represented the data in this pictogram, where each fruit symbol 🍎 represents $3$ pieces of fruit eaten.
- a) How many pieces of fruit did Ana eat in total?
- b) Who ate exactly $6$ pieces of fruit?
- c) How many more pieces of fruit than Luis did Sara eat?
The following pie chart represents how the $40$ students in a year group travel to school. Given that half of the class walks, a quarter goes by bus and the rest goes by…
The following pie chart represents how the $40$ students in a year group travel to school. Given that half of the class walks, a quarter goes by bus and the rest goes by car:
- a) How many students walk to school?
- b) How many students go by bus?
- c) What angle in degrees corresponds to the sector of students who walk? (Remember that a full circle is $360^\circ$).
Histogram
When the variable is continuous and the data are grouped into intervals, we use a histogram: it is like a bar chart, but the bars touch, because the intervals are consecutive.
In a 1st-year ESO class, a vote has been held to choose the theme of the end-of-year party. The results were as follows: Superheroes ($8$ votes), Space ($6$ votes),…
In a 1st-year ESO class, a vote has been held to choose the theme of the end-of-year party. The results were as follows: Superheroes ($8$ votes), Space ($6$ votes), Mystery ($10$ votes) and Sports ($4$ votes).
Calculate the relative frequency of each option (as a fraction and as a decimal number) and represent the number of votes for each theme in a bar chart. Make sure the vertical axis is properly scaled and labeled.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
In a survey conducted among the $120$ students of 1st ESO about their favourite streaming platform, the following results were obtained: $40\%$ prefer Netflix, $30$…
In a survey conducted among the $120$ students of 1st ESO about their favourite streaming platform, the following results were obtained: $40\%$ prefer Netflix, $30$ students choose Disney+, the relative frequency of HBO is $0,15$ and the rest opt for Twitch.
Calculate the absolute frequency of each category and draw a pie chart. To do this, you must indicate the exact angle in degrees for each sector using the formula: $Ángulo = \frac{f_i}{N} \cdot 360^\circ$.
Pie chart and line graph
A pie chart shows what part of the total each value represents, especially for qualitative variables. Each sector has an angle proportional to its frequency:
$$\text{ángulo} = h_i \cdot 360°$$A line graph shows how something changes over time (followers per month, temperature per hour).
| I want to show… | Graph |
|---|---|
| Compare a few quantities visually | Pictogram |
| Frequencies of individual values | Bar chart |
| Data grouped into intervals | Histogram |
| Parts of a whole | Pie chart |
| Change over time | Line graph |
Ximena asked her $20$ teammates what their favourite trainer colour was. The results were: Red, Blue, Blue, White, Red, White, White, Blue, Red, White, Blue, Blue,…
Ximena asked her $20$ teammates what their favourite trainer colour was. The results were:
Red, Blue, Blue, White, Red, White, White, Blue, Red, White, Blue, Blue, White, Red, White, White, Blue, White, Blue, White.
- a) Organise these data into a frequency table including the colour and the absolute frequency ($f_i$).
- b) What is the mode of this study?
- c) Draw a simple bar chart in your exercise book to represent these results.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
At the school library they want to visualize how many books have been lent out each day of the week. They have decided to use a pictogram where each "book" symbol…
At the school library they want to visualize how many books have been lent out each day of the week. They have decided to use a pictogram where each "book" symbol represents $5$ loans.
| Day | Books lent |
|---|---|
| Monday | $20$ |
| Tuesday | $15$ |
| Wednesday | $25$ |
| Thursday | $10$ |
| Friday | $30$ |
Draw the corresponding pictogram in your notebook using a simple symbol to represent the books. Calculate how many symbols you need for each day.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
A study has been carried out on the number of siblings of the students in a class. The relative frequency bar chart shows that: $20\%$ have no siblings. $50\%$ have 1…
A study has been carried out on the number of siblings of the students in a class. The relative frequency bar chart shows that:
-
$20\%$ have no siblings.
-
$50\%$ have 1 sibling.
-
$25\%$ have 2 siblings.
-
The rest have 3 siblings.
If there are $40$ students in the class in total, build the absolute frequency table and draw the absolute frequency bar chart. What height would the "1 sibling" bar reach on the absolute frequency chart?
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
Frequency polygon and width of the intervals
For ordered numerical values, the frequency polygon joins the points $(x_i,f_i)$ at the tops of the bars; with intervals of equal width, it uses their class midpoints. It summarises the distribution, not a change over time. Do not join categories that have no numerical order as if there were intermediate values between them.
In the histograms in this section, the intervals all have the same width. If their widths were different, the heights would have to be adjusted so that the area, and not simply the height, represented the frequency. An interval with a frequency of zero can leave a gap: this does not mean that its values are impossible.