Today s top story: Graphs, graphs, graphs! When and how to use them appropriately. For the appropriate scoop, let s go to Sally Newwwwwsworth!

Transcription

1 Appropriate Graphs MA6611 Activity Introduction Today s top story: Graphs, graphs, graphs! When and how to use them appropriately. For the appropriate scoop, let s go to Sally Newwwwwsworth! Direct Instruction Thanks Ozzie. Today we ve got lots of ground to cover and math, slash, hoop-star High-tops Thompson is here to break it all down for us. Ball s in your court, High-tops! Model 1 What s up, sport? High-tops Thompson here, hoopin in the high numbers. To manage all of my record-breaking stats, coach sometimes has to use graphs. Check it out Graphs are used to organize and display information. When choosing an appropriate graph, you need to make sure the graph ll communicate your information in a way that s easy to understand. Your graph should clearly convey the message desired. It should accurately describe the information. Basically what High-tops means is that your graph should say what you want it to say, exactly as you mean to say it. And when you choose the appropriate graph, you need to make sure the graph can t be misread or misinterpreted, and that it visually represents the data correctly. You can t choose the right graph if you don t know which graph to use. So High-tops is gonna give you a quick lesson. Here we go.

2 A bar graph displays data in separate columns, or bars. A double bar graph displays data in two columns or bars. A bar graph is best used to compare data. A line graph displays data as points or plots on a graph and then connects the data with a line. A double line graph displays multiple data sets with a key to identify the information. A line graph is best used to display data that show changes over time. Finally, my favorite, a circle graph, looks like a basketball. Circle graphs display information in percentages, or parts, of the whole. Each section has a label and a percentage. A circle graph is best used to represent data that are parts of a whole. Okay, let s take a breather here. Did ya understand circle graphs or do ya feel like you re going in circles? We can see that again if it ll help. Model 2 Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about graphs, there s more! So, let s go back to our gi-normous graphing genius, High-tops Thompson! Every time I get on the court, I have to figure out which move is most appropriate for which situation. Sometimes I ve gotta use my fierce cross-over. Other times, I have to do the shake-and-fake. Well, when you re using graphs, you have to know all of the moves to know which is most appropriate. Here are a few more to throw into your mix of math graph moves. A histogram is similar to a bar graph except the bars are shown without the gap between the columns. A histogram is best used to show data that can be placed in equal intervals. A Venn Diagram is made from two or more of my favorite shapes circles. The overlapping sections represent items that are part of more than one circle.

3 A Venn Diagram is best used to show all the possible relationships between sets of data. A box and whisker plot is made from a number line and rectangular boxes. This graph shows where most of the numbers are. This kind of graph is also based on the medians of the numerical data. A box and whisker plot is used to organize numerical data into four groups of approximately equal size. And for the horticulturists Just kidding. High-tops knows that the last graph, a stem and leaf plot, actually has nothing to do with gardening. It s a graph that is made with two columns. Stem-and-leaf plots organize data to show shape and distribution. The numbers are arranged by the place value of the digits. A stem-and-leaf plot is best used to organize numerical data based on their digits to compare value. Was that a home run for you? Or a field goal? I always get my sports terms mixed up. Anyway, if it was working for you and you re ready to go, well, by all means. But if you need to see it again, just lemme know. Model 3 How High-tops manages all of this information is beyond me. That s why he s the math expert, and I m the reporter and his biggest fan! No basketball training would be complete without learning the High-tops-hammerjackdrill-and-shoot. And no lesson about graphs is complete without this A Pictograph. A pictograph is made with you guessed it pictures. And each picture represents a multiple of a number. There must be a key, or legend, explaining the numerical value of the picture. A pictograph is used to show data in multiples of a number.

4 The last, but certainly not least, of all graph types is the scatter plot. It s made using a coordinate graphing system. Scatter Plots show trends in data. A scatter plot is best used to show the relationship between two factors. Having said all of that, to choose the most appropriate graph, one that accurately represents your information, you need to remember how the graphs are used. And pause! Okay, if you can tell a pictograph from a scatter plot without feeling scatterbrained, then I say keep on movin. But if you re at all unsure, I d say go back and see that again. End of Activity Review Well, we covered a lot of ground today, huh? Let's go over it again. In this lesson, you learned about lots of different types of graphs and how to use them appropriately. To choose which type of graph is the most appropriate for you to use to represent your information, you need to remember how the graphs are used. The difference between a bar graph and a line graph is the line graph is used to show changes over time. The circle graph must show parts of a whole. A histogram is like a bar graph but uses equal intervals. A Venn Diagram shows the relationship between sets of data. To display numbers, you can use the box-andwhisker plot or the stem and leaf plot. The Box-and-whisker plot divides the numbers into four groups while the stem-and-leaf plot divides the numbers based on the digits. A pictograph uses pictures and a scatter plot is used to show a correlation.

5 Alrighty, my friend. It s time to tell me what you wanna do. Ready to cruise on outta here?