KA-0015Reading tables, charts, and graphs
3 points, difficulty 1 of 3Level 3–4about 45sThe chart shows how many pets four children own. How many more pets does Mia own than Leo?
Text description of the figure
A bar chart with four bars labelled Ana, Leo, Mia and Sam. The vertical axis is marked in steps of 2 from 0 to 10. The bars reach 4, 2, 8 and 6 respectively.
Hints
Take them one at a time. The first gives nothing away.
1A nudge
Check what one step on the scale is worth.
2The strategy
Read the axis before reading the bars. Once you know what one gridline is worth, read both bars and subtract, because the question asks how many more, not how many.
3The full solution
Each step on the axis is 2 pets. Mia's bar reaches 8 and Leo's reaches 2, so Mia has 8 - 2 = 6 more pets.
Solution— no shortcut on this one
Read the scale first: the axis goes up in twos, so a bar reaching the fourth gridline means 8. Mia is at 8, Leo is at 2. The question asks how many more, so subtract: 8 - 2 = 6. The transferable idea: read the axis, then the bars, then the exact question.
Why this is on the test: Chart questions are lost on the scale and on the word more, not on the arithmetic, and both traps are live here.