Aim

I know how to draw a pie chart from a given set of

data.

Success Criteria
• I know which calculations will give me the correct angles for each of my
sectors.
• I can use a protractor to construct the angles required by my pie chart.
Pie charts are a great way to show the
comparative sizes of a set of data and
now you can draw them yourself by
following these steps!
 Anna’s Method
About a circle = 360°
Total frequency = Σf
Ratio Constant, c =
c = how many degrees per frequency
c = how many degrees for1 datum
Angular Representation for each class of data (θ)
Class 1 = θ1 = f1 × c
Class 2 = θ2 = f2 × c
Class n = θn = fn × c
 1. Collect or identify your data
Imagine you have collected the following data about the eye colour of 60 people
and you want to turn it into a pie chart:

Eye Colour Number of People/

frequency (f)
Green 22
Blue 13
Brown 17
Other 8
Total Σf = 60

1 datum = 1 frequency
i.e. when f = 1, we have 1 datum.
 2. Understand the process

A circle is a full turn of 360˚.

To find out how big each section of

the pie chart needs to be, we need to
find out how many degrees each
datum represents.

Datum: One piece of information, in this case the eye colour of one person.
 3. Convert the data to degrees
Eye Colour Number of People
Divide 360 by the total size of your
Green 22
sample to calculate how many
Blue 13 degrees each datum (the eye colour
Brown 17 of each person) is equal to.
Other 8
Total 60
360 ÷ 60 = 6˚ per person.
c = 6˚ per person
Eye Colour Number of Calculation Degrees in
Multiply the People (f) f× c Pie Chart
number of people Green 22 22 x 6 132
in each data set by
Blue 13 13 x 6 78
6 to calculate the
size of the angle Brown 17 17 x 6 102
for their sector in Other 8 8x6 48
the pie chart. Total 60 60 x 6 360
 4. Drawing your pie chart
1. Draw a circle.
2. Mark the radius by joining
the centre of the circle to the
edge.
3. Place a protractor on the
radius and measure the angle
for your first data ‘slice’.
4. Draw the line in to complete
the sector.
5. Repeat for your remaining
data.
6. You should find that you
don’t need to measure your
last sector!
5. Label and colour your chart

Green,
132o
6. Working with More Complex Data
Sets
Some data sets will involve larger numbers or the calculations will involve
decimals, or both. The principles of calculating the size of each sector remain the
same and any decimal answers can be rounded to the nearest degree.

e.g. Chart to show how the total population of the United Kingdom (63 200 000) is
divided between England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
360 ÷ 63 200 000 = 0.0000057 degrees per person!

Country Population Calculation Angle of Sector Rounded

x 1 000 000 (degrees) (degrees)
England 53 000 000 53 000 000 x 0.0000057 301.8987 302
Scotland 5 300 000 5 300 000 x 0.0000057 30.21 30
Wales 3 100 000 3 100 000 x 0.0000057 17.67 18
Northern 1 800 000 1 800 000 x 0.0000057 10.26 10
Ireland
7. Calculating Sector Data Using Pie
chart Angles
The process also works backwards, meaning you can calculate the value of any
given sector provided the total data size is known.
e.g. Chart to show the favourite pizza flavours of 200 children. Σf = 200

Vegetarian
Hawaiian
How many children chose Hawaiian?
Roast
Chicken
360 ÷ 200 = 1.8 degrees per child.
1.8 degrees per child = c

Pepperoni Hawaiian sector measures 81 degrees.

Margherita

81o ÷ 1.8 = 45 children (f )

45 x 1.8 = 81o
 Aim
I know how to draw a pie chart from a given set of
data.

Success Criteria
• I know which calculations will give me the correct angles for each of my
sectors.
• I can use a protractor to construct the angles required by my pie chart.