6th grade · Math · Unit 11 of 17
Data & Graphs
Histograms, range and line graphs
What your child practices
Telling discrete data (counted) from continuous data (measured), reading histograms and line graphs, finding the range, and spotting misleading graphs.
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 6.23; 6.24 · showing numerical data in plots and describing its center and spread
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Discrete data is counted (pets). Continuous data is measured (height).
- A broken-line graph shows how something changes over time.
- The range is the greatest value minus the least value.
Example: Test scores: 6, 9, 7, 10. What is the range? Greatest: 10. Least: 6. 10 − 6 = 4. Answer: 4
Data & Graphs in Alabama
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 11 of 17 in 6th grade Math, after Algebra Moves and before Powers and Common Factors.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
A line graph's vertical axis starts at 90 instead of 0. Why can that be misleading?
- Large changes look small.
- Small changes look very large.
- The lines become curved.
Small changes look very large.
Hint: Check the scale, the widths and the labels before you trust a graph.
Question 2
Between which two times did the temperature rise the most?
Temperature (°C) through the day Time °C 8 a.m. 9 10 a.m. 14 12 p.m. 12 2 p.m. 11 - 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
- 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Hint: On a broken-line graph, the steepest climb shows the biggest rise.
Question 3
Which data set has the greater range?
Set A Set B 28 3 19 7 16 5 20 22 21 11 - Set A
- Set B
Set B
Hint: Find the range of each set. The greater range is more spread out.
Question 4
What is the range of this data?
9, 43, 26, 21, 28
- 34
- 33
- 24
34
Hint: Range = greatest value − least value.
Question 5
Is this data discrete or continuous? a person's height
- continuous
- discrete
continuous
Hint: Discrete data is counted and has gaps. Continuous data is measured and can be any value in a range.
Question 6
How many students were counted in all?
Minutes spent reading (histogram) Minutes Students 0–9 2 10–19 11 20–29 4 30–39 7 - 24
- 26
- 27
24
Hint: Add the counts for every interval.