Idea 18of 23Builds onA town budget in 100 squares
Read a spending bar graph
How does a bar graph show which service gets more money?
Today you'll discover
- how bars show amounts
- how to compare two bars
- how to find part of the revenue
Think firstMaple Town's budget as bars
Of every $100, how much more goes to police and fire than to parks?
Decide first, then press Next. Compare the ends of the bars.
Maple Town's 100-square grid, and beside it a bar graph: police and fire $30, roads $20, buses $10, parks $10, garbage pickup $10, library and more $20. Then the roads band and bar are outlined: $20 of every $100.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
On a bar graph, compare the lengths: how much more is the difference between two bars.
Part of $50 million
Roads take 20 of every $100, one fifth, so one fifth of the made-up $50 million.
Easy to get wrong“How much more” means subtract. $30 and $10 are $20 apart, not $40.
Key word
- bar graph
- a graph that shows each amount as a bar; a longer bar means a bigger amount
Ready to use it?
- Compare two bars of a spending graph.
- Find a service's share of the revenue.