How To Draw A Chain Step By Step

A very poor, but not unique, example of a graph

This graph is (intentionally) riddled with problems that are commonly seen in student's work. Find out how to avoid these costly mistakes below. — This graph is (intentionally) riddled with problems that are normally seen in student's work. Observe out how to avert these plush mistakes below.

Mr Guch

Graphs - acquire to love them!

I hear this moan more than than any other - it as well is one of the about exasperating:

"Why practise we have to draw graphs in Science - it'due south not maths!"

With Ofsted going on about 'integrated curricula' information technology is important that students do non run across subjects as insular and cut off from each other. The skills learnt in Math, English and Applied science are readily and necessarily transferable to the Scientific loonshit.

Graphs are one of the near of import tools bachelor to scientists (young and old) to display data. They are:

Easy to interpret
Display a big amount of data in a minor (ish) space
Easy to describe!
Worth LOADS of marks in coursework and in exams (typically 4-8marks)

It is a source of endless annoyance seeing a pupil miss a grade boundary by a couple of marks simply to scrutinise the paper and see 3 marks thrown abroad due to poor graphing. This article will take you through the golden rules of drawing graphs, applicative to all exam boards, all situations, all the time. They are even up on my classroom wall equally my 'Tips for the Summit'

Mutual Mistakes, and how to avoid them

At least one-half the marks for whatever graph question are awarded for presenting your graph according to standard conventions; this is earlier the bodily content has even been assessed. Before moving on from any graph question or from a graph section of your coursework, ensure you take followed the 6 Graph Commandments

Thou shalt describe your graph in pencil with a ruler.
Grand shalt apply all thy graph newspaper.
Thou shalt characterization your axes.
Thou shalt e'er give units.
Yard shalt not draw bar graphs.
G shalt not play dot-to-dot with thy information points!

Taking a closer look at that graph - this person has broken five of the six commandments. Even if all their data points are correctly plotted, they have already thrown away half the marks! — Taking a closer look at that graph - this person has broken five of the six commandments. Fifty-fifty if all their data points are correctly plotted, they accept already thrown away half the marks!

Be Specific

If yous have ticked off each of the Commandments, you are halfway to achieving a proficient overall marking for this item graph. But now information technology is time to pick upward question specific marks...

Give your graph a descriptive championship. East.k.: A Graph to show the effect of x on y
Ensure you have put your graph the right style around. Your x centrality should e'er testify the independent variable - this is the variable you are changing. Your y centrality should always plot the dependent variable - this is the variable you are measuring. For example, when looking at the effect of temperature on rate of reaction (a classic chemistry investigation), yous change the temperature and measure the rate. As such, temperature goes on your x axis (it is contained) and rate goes on your y axis (it is dependent)
Ensure y'all plot your data carefully, along the corridor and up the stairs. Mark your data point with a small x. If y'all are plotting multiple information sets on one graph (a prerequisite for the highest marks in some syllabi) and so use a small o or l or similar to distiguish between data sets.
If plotting multiple data sets, WRITE OUT A KEY/LEGEND!
Do not play dot-to-dot. I know I take stated this before, but I so often see jagged continued lines on graphs from my students. Only very rarely are data points connected in this way. More than often, we are seeking the tendency or pattern that our results show, for that we need...
Depict A LINE OF All-time FIT. These lines pass through or well-nigh as many data points as possible. They can either exist direct lined, or a smoothen curve. Look for the pattern to decide which is most appropriate.
TIP FOR THE Elevation: circle your anomalous results (any outliers that do not fit your trend) and characterization them in your key/legend. This will net you extra points for seconds extra piece of work.

A near-perfect graph! Following all of the commandments and many of the higher tier specs too. Beautiful. — A well-nigh-perfect graph! Following all of the commandments and many of the higher tier specs too. Beautiful.

Mr Guch

Don't forget to inquire

Depending on the coursework you lot are completing, the criteria for accessing the very acme marks differ. For rates of reaction, yous are required to find the gradient of your graph; For osmosis and other biological investigations y'all are required to add together error bars; nevertheless other investigations require statistical interventions such as Chi-Squared tests. Graphs are such easy places to option upward precious points that it would exist foolish to not ask your instructor/lecturer/professor etc what the mark criteria are for the highest echelons. Don't waste product marks by not request - past post-obit all the above communication, you take already attained 6/8 marks: now shoot for the last two!

Happy Graphing!

Where next?

6 Steps to Wonderful Graphs
A wonderful Guide to graphs. Great if you want a 2d stance or some other explanation after reading this guide.
BBC GCSE Bitesize Science
Revise GCSE Science from the AQA core and additional, Edexcel, OCR 21st Century cadre and additional and OCR Gateway syllabuses.
GCSE revision and A level revision
S-absurd Revision is the UK'south leading Complimentary revision website. Nosotros provide high quality A Level and GCSE revision guides, revision questions and revision notes to over iii million students a yr!
Doc Chocolate-brown Chemistry Revision
A site specifically for Chemistry. Excellent for A level simply suitable for GCSE also.

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Read More From Owlcation

Dr Hassen Aleem on June 05, 2020:

Thank you! this helped my students out alot!

Wrow on May 27, 2020:

Very informative!! :)

Ratdhe on May 21, 2020:

Very nise is it ,it is very helpfull ,information technology is so nise

sdsds on Apr 03, 2020:

same

ur mom on February 25, 2020:

this is boring im reading it because my instructor is making me

jeff on November 25, 2019:

what does SALUTE represent

. on November 07, 2019:

why is this in sometime fashioned english?

Aidan Neill on October 22, 2019:

this is corking

dumdum on September 26, 2019:

its not so stride by footstep

Maybe for adjacent fourth dimension... on Apr 01, 2019:

u shouldnt say how Non to do information technology start coz it gets kinda confusing

thank u tho!

What is love on Feb 11, 2019:

What is love

Beast on January 06, 2019:

Add together a video on this topic

Evie on November 01, 2018:

Loved it - I'one thousand gonna ace my chem test!

dontweallhatehomework on September 30, 2018:

Thank you for this;incredibly useful

Ihaterhysbaker on September 06, 2018:

ihaterhysbaker

Ell on June 26, 2018:

Thank you for this commodity! And so helpful

Anon on June 13, 2018:

Please show me how to catechumen a table into a graph

Nafisat ndidi lawal on May 08, 2018:

Cheers because i have at present realised my mistakes.thank a lot

Jaedon Fitisemanu on Apr 04, 2018:

Thanx Mate

happy tea pot who has a exam in less then 24 hrs on March 21, 2018:

give thanks q

dhanush sl on November 26, 2017:

show the video

Leeds boi xox gossip girl XD XD on November 23, 2017:

Cheers for help. Got marks off for not drawing graphs right last time. Great assist my middle aged friend

Owen bridges yr7 student on Nov 04, 2017:

this has actually helped me with my homework and i can clinch you i will come back to owlcation and learn more than set to practice my homework

King Poop Emoji on Oct 05, 2017:

I exercise all my writing in pen. The ink shows up better, and in my stance, pens are superior to pencils.

hannah on September 26, 2017:

thank you!!!

this is going to help me with graphing in the future

ngi ayuk on March 25, 2017:

Thanks

LeisaK on March 20, 2017:

Thanks for the examples. I would advise putting zero in the lesser left corner.

Emma on March 18, 2017:

Thanks so much. I have lost so many marks for my graphs and this has explained them in a style I understand! Thank you then much !

D Hardy on November 10, 2016:

According to AQA Biology all points should exist joined by direct lines

Marcus on November 06, 2016:

Cheers and then much have an examination tommorow and had failed previously on graphing and so thanks for this should hopefully assistance me meliorate

Luize on January 08, 2016:

Commandment number ii should be: Thou shalt give your graph a heading!

Well done. I'm decorated with an all-encompassing handout for my kids and was looking for examples of line graphs when I stumbled upon your page. This is well summarized - good job!

helpmewithschool on August xvi, 2015:

ive been freaking out over a exam tomorrow and couldnt discover some of these answers anywhere so thank you so much im incredibly grateful. y'all made me so happy i decided to get an account here just so i could annotate on this and thank you. please keep making actually great hubs

christian eneojo on March 03, 2015:

impressive data...

tine on January 24, 2015:

Aye only how you describe information technology?

TM on Feb sixteen, 2013:

all teachers go on explaining this to me just i never get it,i but got it at present!thanks!

Rhys Baker (author) from Peterborough, UK on March xix, 2012:

"I'm also not sure why there's no title to your graphs"

For my first and third graphs there are titles :Southward The second graph deliberately doesn't have one. Thanks for the comment. You would be surprised how often degree level students forget the basics!

freemarketingnow from California on March 17, 2012:

I'm not sure why I tin't describe bar graphs. I'grand besides not sure why there's no championship to your graphs. Otherwise, this looks good for someone in elementary schoolhouse or junior high. Good work for a beginning hub!

Teresa Coppens from Ontario, Canada on Feb 01, 2012:

I was just education the importance of proper graph structure to a grade 4 class, they were working primarily with bar graphs notwithstanding but the principle remains the same. Fantastic resource.

Rhys Baker (author) from Peterborough, UK on January 08, 2012:

Thanks for your kind words :)

bloggernotjogger from La Cala de Mijas, Kingdom of spain on Jan 08, 2012:

Squeamish hub,

I voted upwardly because the hub explained everything the title said it would. The links at the top are bang-up also. I have more than material to read.

Rhys Bakery (writer) from Peterborough, UK on December 25, 2011:

@Ms Dee - huge thanks for your specific comments - really helpful. I volition try to keep this as a standard for my hubs

@rjsadowski: Couldn't agree more than

Rhys Bakery (writer) from Peterborough, UK on December 25, 2011:

Many of my pupils come to secondary school with a good thought of how to draw bar graphs...and nothing else. As such, they plot bar graphs at all times (talk about abrasive!) Hence my 5th commandment. Bar graphs are only suitable when graphing the results of a tally nautical chart (categories vs frequency) and are used extremely infrequently most Yr7 in Science.

@FitnezzJim - I agree RE graphing on PCs (although Excel and Minitab are still very poor at drawing lines of all-time fit) has now get a norm - for good or sick. Even so, until all exams and coursework are submitted by PC, the more than 'archaic' methods are nonetheless relevent...and you would be gobsmacked how many pupils submit graphs drawn on lined or evidently paper, in pen, without a ruler. GRRR! :)

Thank you for the kind words and so far. I'm glad I am making myself useful.

FitnezzJim from Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 24, 2011:

My goodness, I utilise graphs all the time to rapidly and intuitively convey letters. Unfortunately, I suppose I no longer follow the rules, although I was taught all those rules when I was growing upwardly.

Nowadays, a good graph can be done in Excel (so out goes the paper and pencil rules). I try to label the plots and axes, but truth to say, I near ever go comments to make them more readable (bad addiction ... when yous know what you lot plotted, and are expecting to tell the story when y'all are sharing the graph, and so the exact office is usually when the axes get labelled for the viewer. It'south part of a technique to engage the audition while presenting). Then the units and labelling rules are often cleaved. Bar graphs accept their place, simply non for the plots I brand. The connect the dots dominion unremarkably does non become cleaved since the data is most as random as the stock market, with both the independent and dependent variables showing randomness. Those sort of graphs await like scribbles if you connect the dots.

Great Hub, and fantabulous point that graphs are just another of the many tools a skilful mathematics person can draw on to help convey messages obscured in data.

Welcome to Hub Pages.

rjsadowski on December 24, 2011:

A very useful hub. People don't graph information enough, probably because they don't know how. Remember the words of that great philosopher, Hugh Heffner, "One picture is worth a thousand words".

Deidre Shelden from Texas, USA on December 24, 2011:

What a GREAT first hub! I'thou impressed. I've not seen an article about this before. What is the reason behind the fifth commandment? I'm curious. A good championship is then very important and you seem to have a proficient one hither :). If it were me, I would not put any more links in than you already have. You take not gone overboard on the tags, either. So, slap-up job!

Rhys Bakery (author) from Peterborough, UK on Dec 23, 2011:

This is my start hub so please comment! Any improvements, suggestions or criticisms are gratefully received.