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← Back to Data Handling
1Tally Marks2The Tally Table3The Pictograph4The Bar Graph5The Line Plot6Mode & Range7Reading the Story8Frequency Tables9Mean (Average)

Concept 7 of 9

Reading the Story

1

Today's big idea

The arithmetic is easy, so the work is deciding which comparison the question wants.

Biggest, smallest, difference or total: read the question before the chart.

2

How it works

👀 What's going on?

A chart question almost never asks what bar three is worth. It asks which day was wettest, or how many more people chose one thing than another.

💡 Here's the trick

which day rained most?MTW👑TFspot the punchlinebiggest, smallest, the difference — every chart hides a story

The numbers are the easy part. The work is turning the question into the right operation: a biggest, a smallest, a difference, or a total. Read what is being asked before you read the chart.

🪄 How to do it

  1. 1.Read the labels on the picture above to see what is being measured.
  2. 2.Decide what the question wants: the biggest, the smallest, a difference, or a total.
  3. 3.Take only the values that answer that, and leave the rest alone.

✍️ Try it

Sports-day votes are Cricket 7, Football 16, Hockey 9 and Tennis 4. Which sport won, and how many more chose it than cricket?

Football won with 16 votes. It beat cricket by 16 take away 7, which is 9.

⚠️ Watch out

How many MORE is a subtraction and how many ALTOGETHER is an addition, and the two phrases look alike when you are rushing. Both answers will be sitting in the options, so read the question twice before you pick.

🌟 Why this matters

Charts turn up with a question attached everywhere you look. Which month was hottest, whether a team is improving, which bus is busiest on a Friday.
Exam tip: Underline the key word in the question before you look at the chart, because the chart will happily answer something you were never asked.

3

Watch me solve one

Quanta solves it

“Watch how I think through one of these — then you try.”

THE PROBLEM

“Bar graph: Mon=15, Tue=12, Wed=20, Thu=8. How many MORE on Wed than Thu?”

  1. 1

    Pull the relevant bars

    Wed = 20. Thu = 8.

  2. 2

    'MORE' = subtract

    Find the gap between the two bars.

  3. 3

    Calculate

    20 − 8 = 12

  4. 4

    Answer ✓

    Wed had 12 more than Thu

Now you try one — same steps, different story 👇

4

See it in action

⚡ Time to play!

Same chart, different question. Read the QUESTION before you scan the bars.

Ice-cream Votes

1612840

Vanilla

Chocolate

Strawberry

Mint

QUESTION 1 OF 3

Tap the MOST popular flavour (the tallest bar).

5

Quick check

✅ VERIFICATION

Bar graph: Mon = 9, Tue = 14, Wed = 6, Thu = 11. How many ALTOGETHER across the four days?

⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.

Keep going!

Up next: Frequency Tables

Frequency = how often. Sum all = total items.

Concept 8 of 9 →