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Australia
Year 4

10.02 Picture graphs

Lesson

Are you ready?

Do you know how to interpret information in a  table  ?

Examples

Example 1

Avril asks her friends what they like to eat when they go out with their family. She puts her results in the following table.

FoodNumber of Friends
\text{Hamburger}4
\text{Taco}5
\text{Icecream}8
\text{Kebab}3
a

How many friends did Avril ask?

Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Add all the numbers in the 'Number of Friends' column.

Apply the idea
\displaystyle \text{Total}\displaystyle =\displaystyle 8+4+3+5Add the number of friends
\displaystyle =\displaystyle 20
b

Which food do Avril's friends like the least?

A
Kebab
B
Hamburger
C
Taco
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Choose the food in the given table with the smallest number of friends.

Apply the idea

The food with the smallest number of friends is Kebab with 3 friends.

So the correct answer is option A.

Idea summary

We can organise how many times something occurs in a table and use it to answer questions.

Picture graphs

This video shows what a picture graph is (also called a pictograph) and the key components of title, key, rows and columns. Here we will look at an example where each image represents one thing, such as a person or object.

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Examples

Example 2

A class were asked to vote which sport they would like to play in their next lesson. The votes are shown in the picture graph.

This image shows a picture graph for sports votes. Ask your teacher for more information.

Each image represents 1 vote.

a

How many students are in the class?

Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Each image represents 1 vote by 1 student. Count the images in the graph.

Apply the idea
\displaystyle \text{Students}\displaystyle =\displaystyle 7+3+5+1Add the number of images
\displaystyle =\displaystyle 16
b

Which sport received the most votes?

A
Soccer
B
Basketball
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Choose the sport that has most images next to it.

Apply the idea

Basketball received the most votes. So the correct answer is option B.

Idea summary

Picture graphs display data using pictures. It is important to read the key to understand what each picture represents.

Key features of picture graphs

This video uses an example of a picture graph to understand all the important elements of this type of graph including the rows, columns, title and key. Here we will look at an example where each image represents more than one thing, such as a group of people or objects.

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Examples

Example 3

A group of children are going to the mall and are asked, "What is your favourite shop?" This picture graph shows the store they chose.

This image shows a picture graph for children's favourite shop. Ask your teacher for more information.
a

Complete the frequency table below for the number of children.

StoreFrequency
\text{Sweets store}
\text{Games store}
\text{Toy store}
\text{Total}
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Use the data given in the table and remember that 1 image represents 5 children.

Apply the idea

For the Sweets store, there are 9 images. So, 9 \times 5 = 45.

For the Games store, there are 4 images. So, 4 \times 5 = 20.

For the Toy store, there are 7 images. So, 7 \times 5 = 35.

\displaystyle \text{Total}\displaystyle =\displaystyle 45+20+35Add all the children
\displaystyle =\displaystyle 100Evalue

Filling in the table, we get:

StoreFrequency
\text{Sweets store}45
\text{Games store}20
\text{Toy store}35
\text{Total}100
b

How many children prefer the Sweets shop over the Games shop?

Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Subtract the number who chose the Games shop from the number that chose the Sweets shop.

Apply the idea
\displaystyle \text{Sweets }-\text{ games}\displaystyle =\displaystyle 45-20Subtract the frequencies
\displaystyle =\displaystyle 25

The Sweet shop is preferred by 25 children over the Games shop.

Idea summary

If each picture in a picture graph represents more than 1 item, then we need to multiply the number if pictures by the number of items it represents to find the frequency.

Interpret picture graphs

This video shows us how we can use a picture graph to answer questions.

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Examples

Example 4

It’s "Back to school" time and a shop recorded the number of pens they sold this week.

This image shows a picture graph of pens sold each day of the week. Ask your teacher for more information.
a

How many pens were sold on Wednesday?

Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Count the number of pens for Wednesday and use the key.

Apply the idea

Each image of a pen represents 5 pens.

Wednesday has 4 pen images. So, 4 \times 5=20 pens.

The total number of pens sold on Wednesday is 20.

b

How many more pens were sold on Saturday than on Wednesday?

Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Subtract the number of pens sold on Wednesday from the number of pens sold on Saturday.

Apply the idea

Each image of a pen represents 5 pens.

Saturday has 5 pen images. So, 5 \times 5=25 pens.

\displaystyle \text{Difference}\displaystyle =\displaystyle 25-20Subtract Wednesday's pens from Saturday's.
\displaystyle =\displaystyle 5

5 more pens were sold on Saturday compared to Wednesday.

Idea summary

Another name for a picture graph is a pictograph. These graphs use pictures to represent data. One picture can have a value greater than 1, so we need to check the key to make sure we know what it represents.

Outcomes

ACMSP096

Construct suitable data displays, with and without the use of digital technologies, from given or collected data. Include tables, column graphs and picture graphs where one picture can represent many data values

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