Tsz-ching wants to show how Hong Kong's mean temperature changes month by month over a year. Which chart suits it best? A. A line graph B. A cumulative frequency polygon C. A pie chart D. A stem-and-leaf diagram Choose the right answer

A. A line graph. For change over time a line graph is clearest: a point a month, joined to show the rises and falls.

May records 16 teammates' long jumps (cm) and wants to show how they spread out while keeping every exact value. Which chart suits it best? A. A stem-and-leaf diagram B. A pie chart C. A line graph D. A histogram Choose the right answer

A. A stem-and-leaf diagram. A stem-and-leaf diagram shows the spread, and every leaf is an exact value.

A survey asked 333 people which kinds of transport they take on weekdays, each free to choose more than one: the MTR, buses, minibuses and ferries were chosen by 66%, 53%, 21% and 16% of them. To compare how many chose each, which chart suits it best? A. A line graph B. A bar chart C. A histogram D. A pie chart Choose the right answer

B. A bar chart. The percentages add up to 156%, not one whole split into parts, so no pie chart; comparing the numbers in categories is a bar chart's job.

Cumulative frequency & charts · Ages 14–15

Choosing a statistical chart

Compare: bars. Parts of a whole: pie. Over time: line.

How to do it

Method

Compare: bars. Parts of a whole: pie. Over time: line

The temperature over twelve months: a line graph

Another way

Rule charts out

Not parts of a whole → no pie chart

In full

First ask what the chart has to show. Comparing amounts in categories: a bar chart. Parts of a whole: a pie chart. Change over time: a line graph. How grouped continuous data spread out: a histogram or a frequency polygon. Every value kept exactly: a stem-and-leaf diagram. 'How many are below a value': a cumulative frequency polygon. Two sets' spreads compared: two frequency polygons on one chart. The other way to think is to rule charts out: a pie chart's parts must make one whole, so data that aren't parts of a whole don't go in one; data that aren't continuous don't go in a histogram.

Worked examples

Have a go first, then open each one for the answer and the working.

Example 1
Tsz-ching wants to show how Hong Kong's mean temperature changes month by month over a year. Which chart suits it best?
- A. A line graph
- B. A cumulative frequency polygon
- C. A pie chart
- D. A stem-and-leaf diagram
Choose the right answer
Show the answer and working
Answer: A. A line graph
For change over time a line graph is clearest: a point a month, joined to show the rises and falls.
Example 2
May records 16 teammates' long jumps (cm) and wants to show how they spread out while keeping every exact value. Which chart suits it best?
- A. A stem-and-leaf diagram
- B. A pie chart
- C. A line graph
- D. A histogram
Choose the right answer
Show the answer and working
Answer: A. A stem-and-leaf diagram
A stem-and-leaf diagram shows the spread, and every leaf is an exact value.
Example 3
A survey asked 333 people which kinds of transport they take on weekdays, each free to choose more than one: the MTR, buses, minibuses and ferries were chosen by 66%, 53%, 21% and 16% of them. To compare how many chose each, which chart suits it best?
- A. A line graph
- B. A bar chart
- C. A histogram
- D. A pie chart
Choose the right answer
Show the answer and working
Answer: B. A bar chart
The percentages add up to 156%, not one whole split into parts, so no pie chart; comparing the numbers in categories is a bar chart's job.

Practice questions to try

Try these 5; the answers are at the end. For a whole worksheet, see VIP worksheets below.

1.Tsz-ching wants to show how Hong Kong's mean temperature changes month by month over a year. Which chart suits it best?
- A. A cumulative frequency polygon
- B. A pie chart
- C. A line graph
- D. A stem-and-leaf diagram
Choose the right answer
Answer:
2.May records how a month's pocket money is split between food, travel, fun and savings, and wants to show each one's share of the whole. Which chart suits it best?
- A. A frequency polygon
- B. A pie chart
- C. A line graph
- D. A histogram
Choose the right answer
Answer:
3.An online poll asked 339 people which of football, basketball, swimming and badminton they like best, to compare how many chose each. Which chart suits it best?
- A. A cumulative frequency polygon
- B. A bar chart
- C. A histogram
- D. A line graph
Choose the right answer
Answer:
4.In a survey, each person chose one of four answers, chosen by 22%, 20%, 17% and 36% of people. These figures can be drawn as a pie chart.
True or false?
Answer:
5.A survey asked 108 people which kinds of transport they take on weekdays, each free to choose more than one: the MTR, buses, minibuses and ferries were chosen by 43%, 41%, 31% and 27% of them. To compare how many chose each, which chart suits it best?
- A. A line graph
- B. A histogram
- C. A bar chart
- D. A pie chart
Choose the right answer
Answer:

All the answers

1. C. A line graph
2. B. A pie chart
3. B. A bar chart
4. False
5. C. A bar chart

Free worksheet: Choosing a statistical chartWorking out, multiple choice and word problems, with answers and working, to print or save as a PDF

VIP practice notes and papers

Aimed at tests and exams: questions on this topic, new every time, to print or save as a PDF.

Practice notes: The key point, worked examples step by step, then questions of the same kind to follow, hints fading
Practice paper: Set out in parts like a school paper, marked, with answers and full working

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