Pictographs

• A pictograph is a type of graph in which

pictures, symbols, or icons represent

quantities.

• Pictographs can represent data in

interesting ways, but they can also be

misleading.

Example 10

• This pictograph

predicts the world

population.

• Each person icon

represents 1 billion

people.

Example 11 • Each hotdog represents 10% of campers.

Example 12 • This pictograph compares amounts spent on

different types of holiday gifts.

Example 13 • Why is this pictograph misleading?

Example 13, cont’d

• Solution: The bars are not proportional in

height to the amounts they represent.

• For example, there were nearly 4 times as many

students in grades 1-8 as there were in pre-

elementary.

• The bar representing grades 1-8 is only about 3

times as tall as the one representing pre-

elementary students.

• This causes the difference to look smaller than it

really is.

Example 14 • Why is this pictograph misleading?

Example 14, cont’d

• Solution: The bars are not proportional

to the amounts they represent.

• The bars are also angled, emphasizing

the length of the top bar and making the

bottom bar look shorter.

Example 15

• Why is this pictograph misleading?

Example 15, cont’d

• Solution: It must be clear whether a 2-

dimensional or 3-dimensional object is being

used to represent a quantity.

• The amount of milk sold in 2003 was about twice

the amount sold in 1997.

• It is not clear whether the volume or the height of

the carton represents the milk quantity.

• The volume of the second carton is 8 times as

large as the volume of the first carton. This is

misleading.