Read and Compare Data in a Bar Graph

In this activity, we're going to be practising reading and comparing information in a selection of bar graphs.

 

Here is a bar graph showing the favourite subjects of a group of children:

 

 

What this graph is telling us:

- The range of subjects

- The number of children who liked each subject best (at the end of each bar)

- We have two labels to tell us what the information is representing (subjects and number of children)

 

Tip:  The total number is not usually included - we need to use the scale to read this information.  However, in this graph the total number for each subject has been included.

 

 

Let's look at a typical question that we might be asked about this bar graph:

 

Example

How many more children like maths than English?

 

Answer

We find the bar for maths and read the total and do the same for English.

Maths = 10 children

English = 6 children

Subtract 6 from 10 to find the answer.

Four more children prefer maths.

 

Top Tip:  Check the scale on graphs - they do not always increase in ones.

 

 

Good luck with the following questions.