Graphs, tables, and basic geometry for GED

Reading tables and bar/line graphs

You see tables and graphs all over the GED: they’re just organized ways of showing numbers so you can compare, total, or spot trends.

Reading tables

A table is rows and columns with labels.

Example table: hours of TV watched

Key moves:

• Read labels first

  • Left column tells you what (days).
  • Right column tells you how much (hours watched).

• Find totals
  Add the numbers in the column:

  • Total hours = $2 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 12$ hours.

• Find differences

  • Difference between Thu and Wed = $4 - 1 = 3$ hours more on Thu.
  • Difference between highest and lowest day:
    • Highest = 4 (Thu), lowest = 1 (Wed), difference = 3.

• Compare entries

  • More hours on Tue or Fri?
    Tue = 3, Fri = 2 → Tue is 1 hour more.

Reading bar graphs

A bar graph uses bars instead of rows.

Imagine a bar graph with the same data:

• Horizontal axis (bottom): days (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri).
• Vertical axis (side): hours (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …).
• Each bar’s height = hours watched on that day.

You do the same things:

• Totals: read each bar’s value, then add.
• Differences: subtract one bar’s value from another.
• Comparisons: look for tallest (maximum) and shortest (minimum) bars.

Reading line graphs

A line graph connects points to show change over time.

Same data as a line graph:

• Horizontal axis: days.
• Vertical axis: hours.
• Points:
  • Mon (2), Tue (3), Wed (1), Thu (4), Fri (2), connected by a line.

How to use it:

• Trend (overall pattern):

  • From Mon→Tue: goes up (increase).
  • Tue→Wed: goes down (decrease).
  • Wed→Thu: sharp up.
  • Thu→Fri: down.

• Totals: still just add the values you read off the graph:

  • 2 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 12.

• Differences:

  • From Mon (2) to Thu (4): 2 more hours.
  • From Tue (3) to Wed (1): 2 fewer hours.