Identifying Variables
and
Interpreting Graphs
KINDS OF VARIABLES
KINDS OF VARIABLES
Remember!
Your hypothesis can TELL you what
your variables are!
Ex. If I drink Mountain Dew before
bed, then I will not sleep very much.
IV: Drinking Mountain Dew
DV: the amount of sleep
Practice
Use this hypothesis to identify the
variables:
If I leave all the lights on all day,
then my electric bill will be expensive
IV: __Leaving Lights on or off____
DV: ___Amount of electric bill_____
If I brush my cat more, then there will be
less fur on my furniture
IV: Amount of time brushing the cat
DV: Amount of fur on furniture
GRAPHING SKILLS
1/6/2021
8
LINE GRAPH
What can time be measured in???
Seconds - Minutes - Hours – Days - Weeks -
Months – Years - Decades - Centuries - etc.
WHEN TO USE A LINE GRAPH?
Would we use a line graph in the following situations:
•To show how many people like pizza in
this class? NO
•To show how many people live in Meridian,
Idaho? NO
•To show how much it rained each month
this year? YES- because months and years deal with time.
BIRTHDAYS?
• Our birthday does deal with time
doesn’t it? (months/years)
• But, our birthday is constant, meaning it
never changes.
• A line graph shows change in time, so
we would not use it for this type of
graph.
◼ Would we use a line graph to show
when our birthdays are?
HOW DO WE MAKE A LINE OR
BAR GRAPH?
• A graph ALWAYS has a title!
• A graph has TWO different axis’s
• An axis is either the horizontal
line (called x) or the vertical line
(called y) that form the base lines
of a graph.
Y
X
X-AXIS AND Y-AXIS
INTERVALS
• When we are setting up a line graph, we need to
decide what intervals we want to use.
• If we are graphing the temperature for a year, do
we want to put 365 days on the graph, and 100
different temperatures?
• When we see a horizontal flat line, that means
that there was no change during a specific time
period.
Title: _____________________
X Axis
Independent Variable
Y Axis
Dependent
Variable
1 2 3 4 5 6
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
2
1
Intervals
Labeling
Labeling
Data
PLOTTING A LINE OR BAR GRAPH
Time in minutes
BAR GRAPH
Title: _____________________
X Axis
Y Axis
1 2 3 5 7
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
2
1
Intervals
Labeling
Labeling
Data
Time (Days)
X axis - Dependent
Plant Height (cm)
Y axis - Independent
0 1.43
7 2.16
14 2.67
21 3.25
28 4.04
35 4.67
Graph the following information. Which type of graph will you use?
Be sure to have a title, proper labeling, accurate data, and appropriate
intervals.
Student Name Shoe Size
Scott 10.5
Audrey 6
Levi 14
Lindsey 8
Butch 9
Alexis 5.5
1/6/2021
23
Graph the following information. Which type of graph will you use?
Be sure to have a title, proper labeling, accurate data, and appropriate
intervals.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Shoe Size
Scott Audrey Levi Lindsay Butch Alexis
Students
Shoe Comparison
