Charts

Line Graphs
Bar Charts
Pie Charts
Pictograms
We sometimes use charts and diagrams to:

Read a bus timetable

Complete a table in a catalogue to buy
goods
Draw up a floor plan
Understanding charts and diagrams will
help you to use them.
 Charts
Some of us may have a road map book of the UK. We sometimes use them to find our way from one
place to another.

What is the journey from Edinburgh to London?

Find the names of the two cities along the edge of the table.
Make a note of which city is on top of the chart. You track DOWN the column
from this one.
At the same time, note where the other city is. From this, you track to the right
along the row.
It helps to use your fingers!
You will find the correct answer where your fingers meet.
The distance between Edinburgh and London is 372 miles.
Here is an example of a line graph.

What temperature was it on Wednesday?

Find Wednesday on the horizontal axis. Lay a ruler up from this point and note where
it crosses the line. Then lay a ruler across to the vertical axis. Read off the answer. You
should get 19°C. The value is half-way between the marks for 18° and 20°.
What are the temperatures for Monday and Sunday?
The temperature for Monday is 18°C and the temperature for Sunday is 26°C.
Holiday brochures display a lot of information in the form of
charts and diagrams. These might help you to:

Work out the price of your holiday.

Work out the times of ferries or planes.
Know when it will be too hot or too cold.
Learn about the layout of the town/island/country.
What if you are planning a holiday abroad, but don't want to go
when it is very hot? It's likely you'll be interested in the
temperature information. This is often displayed in a bar chart.
The temperature in January is 22°C and then it rises to 40°C in May. You might decide
to go on holiday in January because the weather will be pleasant but not too hot.

Find a temperature by looking at the top of a bar. Imagine a horizontal line drawn to
the scale on the left. You could use a ruler! Read the scale at the point where the line
crosses it.
Bar charts should have titles.
Bar charts should have a scale that is easy to read or use.
The axes must be labelled.
Information in newspapers, magazines and leaflets may be displayed as pie charts.

A pie chart is a good way of displaying data as it is easy to compare the segments. Look at
this pie chart that shows why people are in debt.

A pie chart is difficult to read if it has more than six slices.

It may be difficult to compare slices when they are very similar in size.
Here is an interesting type of diagram called a pictogram.

How many students have chosen curry as their favourite meal?

There are 4 plates of curry in the diagram. The key tells us that each plate represents 2
students. So the number of students who prefer curry is
4x2=8
So 8 students said curry is their favourite meal.
Pictograms are good to look at but sometimes it can be hard to pick the best image to use.