General
Charts, graphs and tables
Topic outline
Topic 1
Introduction
- Your course might not include any maths or technical content but, at some point during your course, it’s likely that you’ll come across information represented in charts, graphs and tables. You’ll be expected...
Topic 2
1 Getting the most from charts, graphs and tables
- Do you sometimes feel confused about how to create a chart, graph or table?
Topic 3
2 Reflection on mathematics
- You will have decided to study this unit for your own reasons. We imagine that a common reason will be a lack of confidence in numerical work. However, we do not want to take this for granted. We...
Topic 4
3 Tables
- A table should provide a clear summary record of a collection of data. Tables have a number of columns and rows, depending on the amount of data and the detail shown.
- Imagine that you have been asked to investigate population growth in the EU. You might be considering the details of population growth or you may be thinking about representing the reasons for population...
Topic 5
4 Line graphs
- This section covers line graphs. We define the format, give some ideas about when it should be used, and draw some graphs. You can have a go at drawing a line graph in Activity 6, based on data that we...
- Line graphs are commonly used to show a direct relationship between data. For example, graphs for conversions between one amount and another, such as degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit.
Topic 6
5 Bar charts and histograms
- A bar chart is a diagram in which the numerical values of the different variables are represented by the height or length of lines or rectangles of equal width. The bars or lines can be drawn vertically...
- You may have been wondering why bar charts are generally drawn with separate bars. There is a reason for this and to discover what it is, you need to look at the nature of the categories of data being...
- The simplest definition of a histogram is that it is a bar chart with the adjacent bars touching each other. Unlike a bar chart, histograms are usually drawn only with vertical bars. Generally, histograms...
Topic 7
6 Pie charts
- A pie chart is a circular chart (pie-shaped); it is split into segments to show percentages or the relative contributions of categories of data.
- To see what we mean, you should follow our calculation of a pie chart using the data in Table 8.
Topic 8
7 Analysis
- Charts, graphs and tables are all very helpful ways of representing a set of data. However, they are not the only ways of passing on information about data. This section looks at how you can analyse a...
- The mean, median and mode are all types of average and are typical of the data they represent. Each has advantages and disadvantages, and can be used in different situations, but they all give us an idea...
- So far you have looked at small sets of data, which are relatively easy to analyse. Naturally, this is not always the case and you need to consider how to work with a larger set of data. Data set B shows...
- So far in this section, you have seen that the mean, median and mode can all give a useful typical value of a set of data. However, there is further information that you can get from a set of data which...
Topic 9
8 Technical glossary
- This glossary is intended to provide a basic explanation of how a number of common mathematical terms are used. Definitions can be very slippery and confusing and at worst can replace one difficult term...
Topic 10
9 Further reading and sources of help
- *The Good Study Guide by Andrew Northedge, published by The Open University, 1990, ISBN 0 7492 00448.
- The local newspaper or your local library are your sources of reference here. Nowadays, most schools and colleges have evening or daytime courses that are open to adult learners. Many of them will have...
