CHAPTER 3 You will need

F Bar Graphs • grid paper

• a ruler
• coloured pencils

c GOAL
Read and interpret the data represented by bar graphs.

Learn about the Math

bar graph
Akeem’s Geography class is studying the Himalayan a graph that uses bars
of equal width to
Mountains. Akeem’s assignment is to find the 10 highest display numerical
peaks in the mountain range. His findings are shown below. data for the purpose
Akeem would like to make a visual display of his findings to of describing or
comparing data
share with his class. values, where the
value of the data can
Mountain Peak Height (m) be determined by the
Everest 8850 length of the bar; the
bars do not touch
Kanchenjunga 8586 each other
Lhotse I 8516
Makalu I 8463 scale
a range of values that
Cho Oyu 8201 includes all values in
Dhaulagiri 8167 the data set but may
extend beyond the
Manaslu I 8163 least and greatest
Nanga Parbat 8125 values
Annapurna 8091
interval
Shishma Pangma (Gosainthan) 8013 space between each
labelled value on the
Akeem has chosen to use a bar graph as the method for scale of a bar graph;
displaying this data visually. The bars of a bar graph can be this is the amount by
which the values on
vertical or horizontal, based on personal preference. However, the axis increase each
the bars within a bar graph always have the same width, and time; there may be a
the bars never touch each other. break at the beginning
of the axis if some
values are skipped
? How can Akeem make a bar graph displaying
the mountain peak data?

A. Decide whether you will use vertical or horizontal bars,

considering the data to be displayed.
B. Determine the scale and the interval you will use for your
graph, based on the values in your data set.

Copyright © 2009 by Nelson Education Ltd. Reproduction permitted for classrooms 3F Bar Graphs 1
 C. Draw a bar for each data value, using the scale to
determine each bar’s length.
D. Label and colour the bars and the axes.
E. Give the graph a title.

Reflecting

1. When is it appropriate to use a bar graph to display data?

2. What are the scale and interval of a bar graph and how
are they determined?

Work with the Math

Example 1: Reading and interpreting the data

represented by a bar graph
Use the following bar graph, showing the favourite colour of several students
in Mrs. Taylor’s math class, to determine how many students were surveyed,
what colour was chosen most often, and what colour was selected the least
often of the eight colours given.

Favourite Colour
Number of students

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
e

e
ue

en
nk

k
d

pl

ng

ac
Re

llo
Bl

re
Pi
r

Bl
ra
Pu

Ye

G
O

Colour

Denise’s Solution

5 red 1 4 blue 1 4 purple 1 To determine how many

3 pink 1 4 yellow 1 3 orange 1 students were surveyed, I will add
2 green 1 1 black 5 26 the number of students for each of
the eight colours listed.

2 Nelson Mathematics Secondary Year Two, Cycle One Reproduction permitted for classrooms Copyright © 2009 by Nelson Education Ltd.
 Red is the colour selected most To determine the colour chosen most
often, with 5 students often, I look at the heights of the bars.
choosing red. I determine that the bar for red is the
tallest of all eight bars.
Black is the colour selected Finally, to determine the colour selected
least often, with only 1 student the least often of the eight colours listed,
choosing black. I again look at the heights of the bars.
This time, however, I am looking for the
shortest bar. The bar for black is the
shortest.

A Checking
3. Use this bar graph to answer the
following questions.
Population of Five Canadian Provinces
15 000 000
Population

12 000 000
9 000 000
6 000 000
3 000 000
0
io

ba
ta
c

bi
be
ar

er

ito
m
ué
nt

lb
lu

an
O

A
Q

Co

M
sh
iti
Br

Province

a) Which of these provinces has the

greatest population?
b) Which of these provinces has a
population between
6 000 000 and 9 000 000?
c) Which two of these provinces have
a combined population of about
4 700 000?

Copyright © 2009 by Nelson Education Ltd. Reproduction permitted for classrooms 3F Bar Graphs 3
 5. Choose a convenient scale and
B Practising
interval to use for graphing each set
4. a) Create a bar graph displaying the
of data.
following data.
a) 60, 34, 50, 10, 20, 15
Number of b) 3, 5, 9, 4, 8, 7, 2
Seats c) 400, 202, 305, 401, 600
in the d) 8500, 7504, 6000, 5005, 4010
House of
Province or Territory Commons 6. Use this bar graph to answer the
Ontario 106 following questions.

Québec 75 a) Which province or territory covers

about 2 000 000 km2?
British Columbia 36
b) Which province or territory has the
Alberta 28 greatest land area?
Manitoba 14 c) Which two provinces or territories
together cover about the same land
Saskatchewan 14
area as Nunavut?
Nova Scotia 11
Land area
New Brunswick 10 2 500 000
Land area (km2)

Newfoundland and Labrador 7 2 000 000

1 500 000
Prince Edward Island 4 1 000 000
Northwest Territories 1 500 000
0
Yukon 1
Nunavut

Québec

Ontario
Northwest

Columbia
Territories

British
Nunavut 1

Province
b) How did you determine the scale
and interval for your graph?
c) Based on your graph, which three
provinces or territories have the
fewest seats in the House of
Commons? Is this consistent with
the data set provided?

4 Nelson Mathematics Secondary Year Two, Cycle One Reproduction permitted for classrooms Copyright © 2009 by Nelson Education Ltd.