Checking understanding of scatter graphs | Maths | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Which line segment has a negative gradient?

Line segment A ✓

Line segment B

Line segment C

Line segment D
Which point on the graph has the coordinates (3, 1)? Point ______.

'D' ✓
Which point on the graph has the coordinates (5, 3)? Point ______.

'F' ✓
What are the coordinates of the point marked on this graph?

'(3, 2)' ✓
The value of $a$ on the horizontal axis is ______.

'75' ✓
The value of $b$ on the vertical axis is ______.

'160' ✓

Exit quiz

A ______ graph is a visual representation for bivariate data.

'scatter' ✓
What is a variable that is predicted to have an effect on another variable called?

independent variable ✓

dependent variable

explanatory variable ✓

response variable
Match each type of variable to the axis it should be plotted on.

Independent variable

⇔

horizontal axis ✓

Dependent variable

⇔

vertical axis ✓
The table contains data taken from the Met Office about weather in Stornoway. Sofia plots a scatter graph with sunshine as the dependent variable. What coordinates should she plot for April?

(131, 200)

(200, 131) ✓

(131, 0)

(0, 200)

(200, 0)
The graph shows travel data from the ONS about the commuting distance and the total number of bus journeys in 2023 for different regions of the UK. Which point shows the lowest commuting distance?

Point A ✓

Point B

Point C

Point D

Point E
The scatter graph shows data taken from the ONS about house prices and annual income. Each point represents a region in England in 2023. Select the correct statements.

Regions in the North have a lower median house price. ✓

Point B represents the highest median income in the South.

Point E represents the lowest median income in the North. ✓

As median income increases, house prices tend to increase. ✓

Point C represents the highest median house price in the South.

Worksheet

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Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

Data is given as pairs of values.
The independent variable is placed on the horizontal axis.
Placing the independent variable on the other axis reflects the data points in y=x but not the correlation type.

Common misconception

Pupils may be uncertain about which variable to plot on the horizontal axis if they are unsure about which is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable.

Getting it wrong should not affect your interpretations of the data too much and sometimes neither variable might be dependent on the other. If you are unsure, consider which variable seems the most likely to be affecting the other in context.

Keywords

Bivariate data - Bivariate data has two variables, where each data point for one variable has a corresponding data point for the other variable.
Scatter graph - A scatter graph is a visual representation for bivariate data. It can be useful when determining the nature of the relationship between the variables.
Independent variable - An independent (explanatory) variable is a measure that is predicted to have an effect on another variable.
Dependent variable - A dependent (response) variable is a measure whose value is predicted to be affected by an explanatory variable.