Line Graphs

Line Graph: a graph that shows information connected in some way (usually as it changes over time).

You record the temperature outside your house and get these results:

Table: Temperature 22 Feb
8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00
24° 32° 36° 29°

You are interested to see how it rises and falls, so decide to make a line graph:

Line Graph Example

It makes the data come alive, right?
You can see how much it cooled down after lunch.

Making Line Graphs

You can create graphs like that using the Data Graphs (Bar, Line and Pie) page.

Or you can draw it yourself!

Example: Ice Cream Sales

Table: Ice Cream Sales
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
$410 $440 $550 $420 $610 $790 $770

Let's make the vertical scale go from $0 to $800, with tick marks every $200

line graph 1
Draw a vertical scale with tick marks

line graph 2
Label the tick marks, and give the scale a label

line graph 3
Draw a horizontal scale with tick marks and labels

line graph 4
Put a dot for each data value

line graph 5
Connect the dots and give the graph a title

Important! Make sure to have:

 

683, 684, 1430, 1431, 1432, 2151, 2152, 2153, 3770, 3771