How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

288 STATISTICS •^ LINE GRAPHS

Let’s look at this line graph.

It shows the average monthly

temperatures recorded in Maths

Town over one year.

The graph makes it easy to

see which were the warmest

and coldest months of the year.

It also lets us compare the

temperatures in different months.

The months of the year

are listed on the horizontal

x axis, and a temperature scale

runs up the vertical y axis.

The average temperature for

each month is plotted with

an “x”. All the crosses are linked

to form a continuous line.

Line graphs

On a line graph, frequencies or measurements are plotted as

points. Each point is joined to its neighbours by straight lines.

A line graph is a useful way to present data collected over time.

x axis marked with

months of the year

July was the

warmest month

January was the

coldest month

May was cooler

than August

y axis marked with

temperature scale

Markings on the axes

are evenly spaced

JanuaryFebruary March

April May June July August

September OctoberNovemberDecember

30

TEMPERATURE (°C)

MONTH

Average (mean) temperatures over a year

25

20

15

10

5

0

35

Counting the beats

A heart monitor is a machine

that records how fast your heart

is beating. It shows the data as

a line graph like a wiggly line

on a screen or print out.

REAL WORLD MATHS

Line graphs are great for

showing data over

a length of time.

288_289_Line_graphs.indd 288 29/02/2016 18:06