Types of Graphs and Charts

Drawing Scientific Graphs

1. Give your graph a descriptive title.
2. Ensure you have put your graph the right way around.
3. Determine the variable range.
4. Determine the scale factor of the graph.
5. Label the horizontal and vertical axes with units clearly.
6. Remove any outliers.
7. Draw a line of best fit.

Bar graph – A bar graph shows the quantity of dependent variable verses the independent variable. This bar graph allows an observer to easily see which is the most or least common result of an investigation.

Three types of graphs are used in this course: line graphs, pie graphs, and bar graphs.

Pie charts are used to show parts of a whole. A pie chart represents numbers in percentages, and the total sum of all the divided segments equals 100 percent.

• Bar Chart/Graph.
• Pie Chart.
• Line Graph or Chart.
• Histogram Chart.
• Area Chart.
• Dot Graph or Plot.
• Scatter Plot.
• Bubble Chart.

Graph is a mathematical representation of a network and it describes the relationship between lines and points. A graph consists of some points and lines between them. The length of the lines and position of the points do not matter. Each object in a graph is called a node.

Graphs are a common method to visually illustrate relationships in the data. The purpose of a graph is to present data that are too numerous or complicated to be described adequately in the text and in less space. If the data shows pronounced trends or reveals relations between variables, a graph should be used.

Graphs and charts communicate information visually. They can show patterns, help scientists identify correlations, and get the point of the experiment across quickly. The dependent variable is plotted on the y-axis.