Graphing Practice Problems

Example 1: The table below shows daily temperatures for New York City, recorded for 6 days, in degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures In NY City

Day Temperature

1 43° F

2 53° F

3 50° F

4 57° F

5 59° F

6 67° F

The data from the table above has been summarized in the line graph below.
Example 2: Sarah bought a new car in 2001 for $24,000. The dollar value of her car changed each year as shown in the table below.

Value of Sarah's Car

Year Value

2001 $24,000

2002 $22,500

2003 $19,700

2004 $17,500

2005 $14,500

2006 $10,000

2007 $ 5,800

The data from the table above has been summarized in the line graph below.
Example 3: The table below shows Sam's weight in kilograms for 5 months.

Sam's Weight

Month Weight in kg

January 49

February 54

March 61

April 69

May 73

The data from the table above has been summarized in the line graph below.
In Example1, the temperature changed from day to day. In Example 2, the value of Sarah's car decreased from year to year. In Example 3, Sam's
weight increased each month. Each of these line graphs shows a change in data over time. A line graph is useful for displaying data or information
that changes continuously over time. Another name for a line graph is a line chart. The graph below will be used to help us define the parts of a line
graph.

Let's define the various parts of a line graph.

title The title of the line graph tells us what the graph is about.

labels The horizontal label across the bottom and the vertical label along the side tells us what kinds of facts are listed.

scales The horizontal scale across the bottom and the vertical scale along the side tell us how much or how many.

points The points or dots on the graph show us the facts.

lines The lines connecting the points give estimates of the values between the points.

Now that we are familiar with the parts of a line graph, we can answer some questions about each of the graphs from the examples above.
QUESTION ANSWER
1. What is the title of this line graph? Temperatures in New York City
2. What is the range of values on the horizontal scale? 1 to 6
3. What is the range of values on the vertical scale? 0 to 80
4. How many points are in the graph? 6
5. What was the lowest temperature recorded? 43° F
6. What was the highest temperature recorded? 67° F
7. At what point did the temperature dip? Day 3: 50° F
QUESTION ANSWER
1. What is the title of this line graph? Value of Sarah's Car
2. What is the range of values on the horizontal scale? 2001 to 2007
3. What is the range of values on the vertical scale? 0 to 25,000
4. How many points are in the graph? 7
5. What was the highest value recorded? $24,000
6. What was the lowest value recorded? $5,800
7. Did the value of the car increase or decrease over time? decrease
QUESTION ANSWER
1. What is the title of this line graph? Sam's Weight
2. What is the range of values on the horizontal scale? January to May
3. What is the range of values on the vertical scale? 0 to 80
4. How many points are in the graph? 5
5. What was the highest value recorded? 73 kg
6. What was the lowest value recorded? 49 kg
7. Did Sam's weight increase or decrease over time? increase
Example 4: The line graph below shows people in a store at various times of the day.

QUESTION ANSWER
1. What is the line graph about? People in a Store
2. What is the busiest time of day at the store? 1 pm
3. At what time does business start to slow down? 3 pm
4. How many people are in the store when it opens? 2
5. About how many people are in the store at 2:30 pm? 11
6. What was the greatest number of people in the store? 22
7. What was the least number of people in the store? 2

Example 5: The line graph below shows the number of teens ages 13 through 19 in Smalltown that have cell phones.
QUESTION ANSWER
1. What is the line graph about? Smalltown Teens With Cell Phones
2. At what age do teens have the greatest number cell phones? 19 years
3. At what age do teens have the least number of cell phones? 13 years
4. How many cell phones do 15 year-olds have? 341

5. 500
About how many cell phones do 16 year-olds have?
6. What was the greatest number of cell phones at any age? 642
7. What was the least number of cell phones at any age? 229

Summary: A line graph is useful in displaying data or information that changes continuously over time. The points on a line graph are
connected by a line. Another name for a line graph is a line chart.

Exercises
Directions: Refer to the line graph below to answer each question. For each exercise below, click once in the ANSWER BOX, type in your answer;
and then click ENTER. Your answers should be given as a word or as a whole number. After you click ENTER, a message will appear in the
RESULTS BOX to indicate whether your answer is correct or incorrect. To start over, click CLEAR.

1. In which month were there the most vandals?

ANSWER BOX:

RESULTS BOX:

2. In which month were there the least vandals?

ANSWER BOX:

RESULTS BOX:

3. How many vandals were there in March?

RESULTS BOX:

4. In which month were there 24 vandals?

ANSWER BOX:

RESULTS BOX:

5. How many vandals were there in February?

ANSWER BOX:

RESULTS BOX:

Unit on Data and Graphs

AccessData and Line

Constructing Line Graphs

Data and Bar Graphs

OR
 Constructing Bar Graphs

Data and Circle Graphs

Constructing Circle Graphs

Comparing Graphs

Practice Exercises

Challenge Exercises

Solutions

We also recommend this Online Math Help Video.

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