What is a graph? A graph is a diagram that shows the values of objects by using lines, bars and slices. There are a number of different kinds of graphs that can be created, including charts, pies (or circles), flow charts and geographical charts.
Chart: A chart is made up of a horizontal line and a vertical line. The horizontal line displays advancing numbers, letters or names going from left to right along the horizontal bottom line. The vertical line displays advancing numbers, letters or names going from the bottom to top along the vertical line.
For example, if you were creating a graph chart to show that you have five candies (Hershey, Kit Kat, Baby Ruth, Snickers and Mounds) and you wanted to see how much money you made with each candy, you would list each candy on the horizontal line such as:
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Hershey Kit Kat Baby Ruth Snickers Mound
Then on the vertical line you would list dollar amounts such as $1, $2, etc. or you could list in them measurements of five such as $5, $10, $15, etc. This would look something like:
$15 |
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$10 |
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$5 |
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$1 |
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The lowest dollar amount would be on the bottom and the highest on the top. The vertical line would intersect with the horizontal line by the $1 and Hershey. As you learn the amount paid on each candy bar you would find the candy bar name and draw a line upward until it reached the dollar amount shown on the vertical line. After checking the sales on each bar you could then look at the chart and see which candy sold the most and which sold the least.
Pie: A pie graph (or circle graph) uses “slices” or “sections” to show size. For example, if you wanted to divide a pizza up to feed ten people, one slice of the pizza would be equal to 1/10 of the pie. The pie would be divided into ten equal sized sections with each section showing a percentage.
Flow: A flow chart is a series of pictures, shapes or subjects that are connected by arrowed lines to show the order of the pictures or shapes or subject. A common flow chart would be a family tree showing the history or flow of ancestors.
Geographical: A geographical chart is a chart of maps that can show population, terrain, industry, climate, health and a wide number of other statistics.