4. Choosing a Data Display
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A circle graph is a type of data display that shows data as parts of a whole.
Not appropriate, see solution.
Through the use of a circle graph, we want to show the change of the number of hits for our school's new website based on the given table during these 5 months.
Month | Hits |
---|---|
August | 250 |
September | 320 |
October | 485 |
November | 650 |
December | 925 |
Let's recall what a circle graph displays. They show data as parts of a whole. This means that, to create a circle graph, we need to divide the number of hits for each month by the overall number of hits. The overall number of hits is the sum of each month.
Month | Hits | Percentage |
---|---|---|
August | 250 | 250/2630*100 %≈ 9.5 % |
September | 320 | 320/2630*100 %≈ 12.2 % |
October | 485 | 485/2630*100 %≈ 18.4 % |
November | 650 | 650/2630*100 %≈ 24.7 % |
December | 925 | 925/2630*100 %≈ 35.2 % |
Sum | 2630 | 100 % |
Now we can plot the circle graph using these percentages.
Let's recall the types of data displays we can use to describe a data set.
Data Display | When Do We Use It? |
---|---|
Pictograph | To show data using pictures |
Dot Plot | To show the number of times each value occurs in a data set |
Stem-and-Leaf Plot | To show how ordered numerical data are distributed |
Box-and-Whisker Plot | To show the variability of a data set by using quartiles |
Circle Graph | To show data as parts of a whole |
Bar Graph | To show frequencies of data values in specific categories |
Histogram | To show frequencies of data values in intervals of the same size |
Line Graph | To show how data change over time |
Scatter Plot | To show the relationship between two data sets using ordered pairs plotted in a coordinate plane |