Visualizing Environmental Science

Graphing Appendix 473

1. Test your understanding of this Graphing Appendix
   by taking the following quiz:
   
   
   1. Label each of the following terms on the below
      graph: title, caption, legend, x-axis, y-axis.
   
   
   
   

b. Are assumed to affect the values of an

independent variable

c. May take on an infinite number of possibilities

between a specified range

d. May take on only a finite number of possibilities

between a specified range

6. Which of the following graphs is used to show the
   proportions of some total value taken up by two
   or more categories?
   a. Scatter plot
   b. Line graph
   c. Bar graph
   d. Pie chart


7. Demonstrate your ability to apply the material
   presented in this Graphing Appendix by performing
   the following tasks:


8. Suppose you are a scientist studying the effects
   of a landfill on the diversity of organisms living
   in a nearby stream. To investigate this topic,
   you count the number of different species in a
   series of water samples collected at successively
   greater distances from this landfill. When you
   have finished collecting all of these data, you
   organize them into a table like this:


9. This graph is an example of a
   a. Scatter plot c. Bar graph
   b. Line graph d. Pie chart


10. Which of the following countries had the greatest
    decline in their total fertility rate from the 1960’s
    to 2011?
    a. India c. Nigeria
    b. Mexico d. Egypt


11. The values of a dependent variable
    a. Are assumed to depend on the values of an
    independent variable
    b. Are assumed to affect the values of an inde-
    pendent variable
    c. May take on an infinite number of
    possibilities between a specified range
    d. May take on only a finite number of
    possibilities between a specified range


12. Discrete data
    a. Are assumed to depend on the values of an
    independent variable

Distance of water sample Number of different

from landfill (in meters) species in sample

10 2

25 3

50 3

70 5

100 8

135 8

175 7

200 13

250 15

300 17

1960–1965 2011

Brazil China Egypt India Mexico Nigeria

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

Total fertility rate

Based on data from Population Reference Bureau.

iÀ̈ˆÌÞÊV…>˜}iÃʈ˜ÊÃiiVÌiÊiÛiœ«ˆ˜}Ê
countries Since the 1960s, fertility levels have dropped dra-
matically in many developing countries.