How to Draw a Line Graph When a scientist carries out an experiment or makes observations, the results are often

taken as measurements. These measurements are then presented as a table. For ex ample, the results below show the growth of a baby badger. (A badger is a carnivorous mammal which is found throughout Europe and Asia.) The growth of a baby badger from birth to the age of ten months Age/months Mass/kg 0 0,1 2 1,4 4 3,6 6 6,8 8 9,8 10 10,4 These results show clearly that the badger grows a lot during its first ten months. You can show these results more clearly if you draw a graph of them using graph paper. To make a graph you must first draw two lines called axes (singular: axis). Use a sharp HB pencil and a ruler to do this. One axis is drawn horizontally across the page and the other vertically up the page. Leave a margin next to each axis to write in.

The numbers are marked along the axis at regular intervals, for example 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Next you plot the results on the graph :

Finally you draw a line between the points and give the graph a good title :

Graphs can be useful for several reasons. Firstly, you can see very clearly that this baby badger grew very quickly up to 8 months but between eight and ten months it grew more slowly. Secondly you can use the graph to estimate, for example, the age when you would expect the baby badger to have a mass of 8kg. You draw a line from the vertical axis to the graph. At the point where this line meets the graph you draw a vertical line down to the horizontal axis. The point where the line crosses the horizontal axis will give you the answer.

You can do the opposite. What will be the mass of the badger at 5 months?

Line graphs provide a visual representation of the relationship between variables and how that relationship changes. For example, you might make a line graph to show how an animal's growth rate varies over time, or how a city's average high temperature varies from month to month. You can also graph more than one data set on the same line graph, as long as it relates the same two variables. For example: You could graph the average monthly high temperature and the average low temperature for a given city on the same graph, because all the data still applies to the same two variables: temperature and month.

1. Draw a large cross in the middle of your graph paper. This represents the two axes -- one vertical, one horizontal. The vertical axis is designated the Y-axis and the horizontal as the X-axis. The place where the lines cross is called the origin.

The areas below the X-axis and to the left of the Y-axis represent negative numbers. If your data set doesn't include negative numbers, you can omit those portions of the graph.

2.2
Label each axis with the variable it represents. To continue the temperature-time example from the introduction, you would label the xaxis as months during the year, and the y-axis as temperature.

3.3
Identify the range of data you have to include for each variable. To continue the temperature-time example, you'd select a range that was large enough to include the highest and lowest temperatures you plan to graph.

4.4
Decide how many units every line on the graph represents for each of your variables. You might designate a scale of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (12.22 degrees Celsius) per line to measure temperature along the Y-axis, and a scale of one month per line to measure time along the X-axis.

Label several of the lines along each axis with the scale measurements. You don't need to label every line, but you should space the labeled line at regular intervals along the axis.

5.5
Plot your data on the graph. For example: If the high temperature in your hometown was 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.44 degrees Celsius) in January, locate the "January" line on the X-axis and the "40 degrees" line on the Y-axis. Trace both lines to the point where they intersect. Place a dot on the intersection. Repeat for all your other data.

6.6
Connect the left-most dot and the dot to its right with a straight line. Continue connecting the dots, one by one, working from left to right.

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If you're graphing multiple data sets on the graph, use a distinctive color of pen, or style of line, for the first data set. Place an example of the color/line style off to the side of the graph and label it with the name of the information being displayed. For example: "High Temperatures." Repeat steps 8 and 9 for the next data set, using a different-color pen or a different style of line for each data set. Place an example of the second line color/style in the margin and label it, too. For example, you could use a red pen to graph high temperatures, then use a blue pen to graph low temperatures over the same period on the same graph. Continue repeating steps 8 and 9 for each remaining data set you want to include on the graph.

7.7
Write the graph's title at the top of the page. For example: Average Monthly High and Low Temperatures in Seattle, 2009.