Pictograms & Bar Charts
Maths: Year 3 & 4 National Curriculum, topic 4.1.2
Pictograms and Bar Charts
Pictograms and bar charts are used to show data in a way that is easy to read.
Pictograms
- A pictogram is a diagram like a table that shows the numbers as pictures.
- A very simple pictogram will use one picture to represent one item.
- Most pictograms use a picture to represent more than one item.
Sam's pictogram
- Sam makes a pictogram of his data.
- He uses a picture of a cup to represent 2 drinks.
- To show Tea, Sam uses 6 pictures.
- To show Coffee, he uses 4 and a half pictures.
Sam's pictogram
Bar charts
- A bar (or column) chart is a useful way to show data.
- Bar charts allow us to quickly compare data because we can see the height of the bars.
- We can see immediately which is the tallest or shortest.
Sam's bar chart
- Sam makes a bar chart from his data on teachers’ drinks.
- He can see that tea is the most popular drink as it has the tallest bar.
- Sam’s scale goes up in 2s.
- He wants to know how many more people want squash than hot chocolate.
Answer
- The difference in height of the bars is 1 ½.
- The scale goes up in 2s.
- That means 3 more people want squash than hot chocolate.
Test yourself on Pictograms & Bar Charts
How many teachers prefer coffee?
How many teachers prefer tea?
How many different types of drinks are included in the bar chart?
How many teachers prefer hot chocolate?
How many teachers prefer tea?