Graphs & Tables
Reading, interpreting, and extracting information from bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, histograms, frequency tables, two-way tables, schedules, and other structured data displays
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Imagine trying to tell your friends about your epic video game stats by reading them a giant, boring list of numbers. Snooze, right? 😴 That is exactly where graphs and charts come in! They are like pictures that tell a clear story using numbers. Instead of staring at a confusing list, you can just look at a colorful picture and instantly see who scored the most points, what the most popular pizza topping is, or how much your pet lizard grew this year. 🦎📊
On the SSAT, you will see a few different types of these number-pictures. Bar graphs use tall rectangles to compare things (like which season sells the most ice cream). Line graphs connect dots to show how things change over time (like tracking your allowance over the months). Pie charts look like actual sliced pizzas 🍕 and show how a whole thing is divided into parts. Finally, histograms look a lot like bar graphs, but they group numbers into ranges (like how many basketball games ended with a score between 60 and 70 points).
The secret to crushing graph questions on the SSAT is to be a math detective! Always read the title of the graph first. Then, look closely at the labels on the bottom (the x-axis) and the side (the y-axis). What are they measuring? Are they counting by 1s, 2s, 10s, or even 100s? If you take a few seconds to understand the map of the graph, finding the right answer will be a piece of cake! 🍰
Practice Questions
5 practice questions for SSAT Upper Level
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- To find which sport is preferred by exactly 50% more 8th graders than 7th graders, we need to calculate a 50% increase from the 7th-grade number for each sport. Fifty percent of a number is half of that number. For Soccer: half of 30 is 15, and 30 + 15 = 45 (not 40). For Basketball: half of 20 is 10, and 20 + 10 = 30. This matches the 8th-grade number perfectly. For Baseball, the number doubled (a 100% increase). Therefore, Basketball is the correct answer.
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- First, find the total percentage of books that are either Biography or Science by adding their individual percentages: 15% + 10% = 25%. Next, find 25% of the total number of books. Since 25% is equivalent to , you can multiply the total number of books (120) by . . There are 30 books that are either Biography or Science.
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rent | $1200 |
| Food | $600 |
| Utilities | $300 |
| Transportation | $400 |
| Savings | $500 |
What fractional part of the Smith family's total monthly budget is spent on Food and Transportation combined?
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- First, calculate the total monthly budget by adding all the expenses: 1200 + 600 + 300 + 400 + 500 = 3000. Next, find the combined amount spent on Food and Transportation: 600 + 400 = 1000. To find the fractional part, divide the combined amount by the total budget: . Simplify the fraction by dividing the numerator and the denominator by 1000 to get .
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- To find the day with the greatest increase, calculate the difference in temperature between each day and the day immediately preceding it.
Monday: 62 - 60 = 2 degree increase.
Tuesday: 65 - 62 = 3 degree increase.
Wednesday: 64 - 65 = 1 degree decrease.
Thursday: 71 - 64 = 7 degree increase.
Friday: 76 - 71 = 5 degree increase.
The greatest increase occurred on Thursday, with a 7 degree jump from Wednesday.
| Number of Siblings | Number of Students |
|---|---|
| 0 | 4 |
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 |
What is the average (arithmetic mean) number of siblings per student in this group?
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- To find the average, first determine the total number of siblings for all 20 students by multiplying each number of siblings by the corresponding number of students, and then adding those products together: (0 × 4) + (1 × 8) + (2 × 5) + (3 × 2) + (4 × 1) = 0 + 8 + 10 + 6 + 4 = 28 total siblings. Then, divide the total number of siblings by the total number of students: . Simplify this by dividing by 2 to get , which is equal to 1.4.
Tips & Strategies
- Use your pencil as a ruler! On the SSAT, you can use the straight edge of your pencil or a piece of scratch paper to trace a line from the top of a bar over to the y-axis. This ensures you read the exact number.
- Watch out for sneaky scales! Sometimes the y-axis counts by s, s, or even s. If a bar stops halfway between and , it means , not .
- Always read the graph's title, the x-axis label, and the y-axis label before you even look at the question. This primes your brain to understand the data.
Common Mistakes
- Watch out for confusing bar graphs with histograms! Bar graphs compare different categories (like dog, cat, fish), but histograms show continuous ranges of numbers (like test scores from , ).
- Don't forget to check the key or legend on pictographs! Sometimes a single picture of a pizza doesn't mean pizza; the key might say it equals or pizzas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a bar graph and a histogram?
A bar graph compares different categories, like your favorite flavors of ice cream, and the bars usually have spaces between them. A histogram groups numbers into ranges, like how many students scored between and on a test, and the bars usually touch each other!
Do I have to draw any graphs myself on the SSAT?
Nope! The SSAT is a multiple-choice test. You will only need to read, understand, and answer questions about graphs that are already drawn for you.
What if the dot on a line graph is floating between two numbers on the side?
You have to estimate based on the scale! If the line is exactly halfway between and , the value is . Just look carefully at what the axis is counting by.
How much math do I actually have to do for these questions?
Usually, just basic addition, subtraction, or finding simple fractions like or of a pie chart. The hardest part is usually just being careful and finding the right numbers on the graph!