UNIT 11

GRAPHS AND CHARTS

Objectives
After learning this unit, you are expected to be able to:
1. interpret graphs and charts;
2. write a graph or chart narration;
3. use present and past participles in sentences.

Pre – reading Activities

Discuss the following questions with a partner.
1. How many types of graphs do you know?
2. What is the function of a graph?
3. How do you interpret a graph?
4. Have you ever written a narration based on a certain graph before?

Reading Selection
Text 1

Interpreting Graphs and Charts

Graphs and charts are diagrams representing numerical relationships in visual terms.
The term “graph” is usually reserved for a diagram showing the relationship of two variable
quantities, each measured along one of a pair of lines called axes, whereas charts can be of
many different types.

Figure 1

The simplest graph, such as the one shown in figure 1, gives a visual indication of a series
of changing values. Figure 1 shows the number of glasses of lemonade sold each day for a week.
To find the number of glasses sold on day 3, first locate the number 3 on the horizontal axis and
then find the point directly above it. The position of this point corresponding to the vertical axis
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is 10, meaning that 10 glasses were sold on day 3. On day 1, the number of glasses sold can be
judged by eye to be 19. Though this graph, like most graphs, is not as accurate as a list of
numbers, it more clearly illustrates the overall trend that lemonade sells better towards the end
of the week than in the middle of the week.

This use of graphs is very common in everyday life, and similar ones are to be seen daily
in newspapers and magazines. Graphs are used to show trends in such matters as inflation,
voting patterns, sales, share values, fuel consumption, and population movement—even the
relative positions of golfers over the 18 holes of a match.

Figure 2

Another use of graphs is in the representation, and sometimes the solution, of

mathematical equations. The graph in figure 2 illustrates this type of use. Suppose it is known
that Yolanda is four years older than Xavier. Using y for Yolanda’s age and x for Xavier’s age, this
relationship can be written as y = x + 4. There are many possible solutions for this equation: one
possible pair of values for x and y is x = 1 and y = 5, which can be written briefly as (1,5). In figure
2, distances from left to right represent values of x, and the horizontal axis is called the x-axis.
Distances upward from the x-axis represent values of y, and the vertical axis is called the y-axis.
The set of all the pairs (x,y) for which y = x + 4 is represented by the blue straight line plotted in
figure 2. In addition to knowing that Yolanda is four years older than Xavier, it is also known that
Yolanda is three times Xavier’s age: y = 3x. The problem is to find values for x and y that make
the equations y = x + 4 and y = 3x both true at the same time.

In figure 2, these two equations are plotted together; the solution of these
simultaneous equations is the point at which the two graphs intersect, (2,6), which shows that
Xavier is two years old and Yolanda is six years old. These simple mathematical uses of graphs
can be extended to cover very complex equations. Many physical laws have been discovered by
analysis of the raw data produced by experiment when they were plotted on graphs. The field of
mathematics called calculus is relevant to the study of graphs. It is concerned with such things as
calculating the gradient, or slope, of a line plotted on a graph from the equation defining that
line. The gradient of a curve can reveal important information. The steeper the curve, the more
rapidly the quantity shown is varying. Thus, in a graph of numbers of cases of infectious disease
against time, the steeper the curve, the more rapidly the disease is spreading, and the greater
the cause for alarm.

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From "Graphs and Charts." Microsoft® Encarta® 2006

Answer these questions based on text 1.

1. What is a graph?
2. What is a graph used for?
3. Look at figure 1, what happens in the first day of lemonade sale?
4. What is the tendency of lemonade sale during the first three-day sale?
5. What kind of visual indication is shown in figure 1?
6. What are x- axis and y-axis?

Text 2

Television Viewing, Reading, and School Achievement

How do you spend your free time? Do you head for the pub? Do you hit the malls
with friends? Do you settle back to take in a TV show or two? Or do you pick up a book and
relax by reading it?
The way you answer these questions may determine how much you know about
important topics and ultimately how well you do in college. According to a recent study by
Ravitch and Finn, students who spend considerable time viewing television know less history
than students who watch T V for fewer hours each day. Students who spend many hours each
day in front of a TV set had much lower average proficiency scores on a history achievement
test than those who spend just a couple of hours. (See Figure 4). Similarly, students who
spend some free time each day reading on their own for pleasure have more knowledge of
literature than those who never read. (See Figure 5)
Research tells us that the knowledge readers bring to reading determines what they
get out of a text—in other words, their comprehension. As Ravitch and Finn explain, “Some
background knowledge is necessary to understand and interpret any text.... The more
advanced the text, the more background knowledge is necessary to read it with
understanding.” Furthermore, those students who have a fund of knowledge on a topic are
able to think critically about it, draw conclusions, and make judgments.

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Figure 4 Column Chart Showing the Relationship between TV Watching and History Test Scores

Television Viewing Per Day and Average Scores on HistoryTest

300
295
290
History Proficiency Scores

285
280
275
Total average history score
270
Female average history score
265
Male average history score
260
255
250
0 - 2 hours 3 - 5 hours6 or more
hours
Hours of TV Watched

Figure 5 Column Chart Showing the Relationship between Reading Activity and Literature Test
Score

Personal Reading Activity and Average Scores on Literature Test

310
Literature Proficiency Scores

300

290

280
Total average literature score

270 Female average literature score

Male average literature score
260

250
Daily 1-2 Less than 1 Never
times/week time/week
Personal Reading Activity

What do these data mean to you—a student who wants to succeed in college? Think
about the question. Hopefully you will spend more time reading and less time doing things that
do not add to your knowledge base. Hopefully too, some of your independent reading will focus
on subjects like history, science, and literature that you must take in college.

Source: Reading with Meaning, 1999 pp. 226-7

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Based on text 2, say whether the following statements are True or False.

1. True False In general, male students scored higher on the history proficiency test
than female students did.

2. True False In general students who spent six hours or more in TV Viewing each day
scored, on average, more than 20 points less on a history proficiency
test than those who spent zero to two hours in TV viewing per day.

3. True False In general, female students who spent some time each day reading on
their own scored the same on a literature proficiency test as male
students who read each day.

4. True False In general, the scores of female students on a literature proficiency test
decreased as they spent less time reading on their own.

5. True False In general, the scores of female students on a literature proficiency test
increased as females spent more time reading on their own.

Answer these questions.

6. Write down two conclusions you can draw based on your interpretation of the graphs and
your reading of the passage.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

7. What can you do to increase your chances of success in college?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary
Here are some examples of charts which are usually used to describe some graphic
data.

: pie chart

: column chart

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 : line chart

: bar chart

: area chart

: scatter chart

: doughnut chart

In reading a graph, you should notice table or chart first whether the information is fixed in time
or changed over time. If the information changes over time, you need to express those by using
words and phrases which describes how it changed. Notice that figure can increase, decrease,
fluctuate, or stay the same. Figures can be in a ‘peak’ that is reaching a high point. They can be
also in the ‘bottom out’ or reaching a low point. Increases, decreases, and fluctuations can be
expressed in SUBJECT + VERB + ADVERB.

Look at the SUBJECT + VERB + ADVERB form below:

SUBJECT VERB ADVERB (manner) ADVERB (time)

increased rapidly
jumped dramatically from 2007 to 2008.
The computer sale rose significantly
decreased sharply
dropped steadily between 2007 and
fell gradually 2008.
fluctuated slowly

Furthermore, it can be expressed by this form THERE + BE + SUBJECT (adjective + noun) +

ADVERB. Look at these examples:

THERE + BE SUBJECT ADVERB

ADJECTIVE NOUN
sudden increase
dramatic jump
There was slow decrease from 2007 to 2008.

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 sharp increase during 2008.
significant fall
rapid fluctuation

Notify the different words and phrases which are used to express the data changes. Look at
these examples

Figure 6 The Chart Displaying the Number of Foreign Tourists in Bali

The Number of Foreign Tourists in Bali

3
1,000,000

750,000 2
1 4
500,000
8
6 7
250,000 5

1995 1996 1997 2002 2005 2008

Terms to describe the trends in the chart:

1: steady drop
2: sharp rise
3: peak
4: dramatic fall/sharp drop
5: bottom out
6: a plateau
7: remain steady
8: gradual increase

Grammar Focus
Participles

Look at the sentences taken from the reading text above.

1. Graphs and Charts are diagrams representing numerical relationships in visual terms.
2. The simplest graphs, such as the one shown in figure 1, give a visual indication of a series
of changing value.

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The underlined words above are nonfinite verbs which are used to modify the sentences. The
form of verbs in the sentences are V-ing and V-3. These forms of verb are called participles.
Based on the example, the participle is divided into present participle and past participle.

1. Present participles are formed by adding –ing to the verb stem. As an adjective, a
present participle modifies a noun that affects someone or something else.
The new song is interesting.
The new song was interesting.

2. Past participles are formed by adding –ed, to the verb stem, but some of the irregular
forms may end in –d, –en, –n, or –t. As an adjective, a past participle modifies a noun
that is affected by someone or something else.
The fans are interested in the new song.
The fans were interested in the new song.

Participles generally come before the noun they modify. They may also be linked to the subject
of the sentence by a linking verb such as to be or to feel.
The park is a frightening place at night.
Steve felt frightened as he walked alone in the park at night.

Exercise
In the sentences below, fill in the correct participles of the verbs in parentheses.
1. People who constantly complain are very __________ (annoy) to me.
2. Whenever Adrian gets __________ (bore), he goes fishing.
3. The students were __________ (confuse) by the Professor’s lecture.
4. Most of the news on television is __________ (depress).
5. The Ruttles were very ________ (excite) to learn that their concert was sold out.
6. Babysitting young children can be __________ (exhaust) for many people.
7. Steve was so __________ (fascinate) by the book that he finished it in one evening.
8. Would you be __________ (frighten) if you saw a vampire?
9. After eating a __________ (satisfy) meal, the cat washed her face.
10. When Dagmar looked in the mirror, she was __________ (surprise) to see that she had a leaf
in her hair.

Source:
http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/writing

Writing Practice
Look at Figure 6: The Chart Displaying the Number of Foreign Tourists in Bali above. To practice
the vocabularies stated above, write a narration based on Figure 6.

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Summary
1. Charts and graphs are used to describe some graphic data.
2. In reading a graph, you should notice whether the information is fixed or changed over time.
3. Data in a graph can increase, decrease, fluctuate or stay the same.
4. Present participle is the nonfinite verb in the form of V-ing.
Example: It was a worrying situation.
5. Past participle is the nonfinite verb in the form of V-3.
Example: We were all very worried.

Reflection
In this unit, you have learned how to interpret graphs and charts, write a graph or chart
narration, and use present and past participles. Put a check on the column based on your self-
assessment.

Objectives Achieved More practice

needed
To interpret graphs/charts
To write a graph or chart
narration
To use present and past
participles

For more practice, you can go to the following site on how to interpret a graph or a chart:
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=399402

More practice on present and past participles can be obtained from the following site:
http://www.grammar-quizzez.com/