Stats and Probability 5.

Pie Charts

5. Pie Charts
Why do we bother with Statistical Diagrams?
to this question The answer of spread?. is similar to the one for: why do we bother working out averages and measures a world jam-packed full of statistics, and if we were forced to facts We live inin their raw, untreated form, not only would we probably not be look at all theany and figures able to make sense out of them, but there is also a very good chance our heads would explode.

are done properly those figures in a clear, concise, Statistical Diagrams if they to make some sense presentthe figures, summarise them, and visually pleasing way, allowing us out of compare them to other sets of data.
TV Show Lost Heroes Desperate Housewives Countdown Teachers TV The Beauty of Maths 12 10 4 15 13 18 Total

Big Example A group of 72 maths teachers were asked to choose their favourite TV show from a list, and their responses are shown in the table on the right. Construct a pie chart to illustrate this information

1. Working out the Angles

Before start the pie chart, you need to know how big slice each of the choices isyou canto taketo draw other words, you need to know the angleaof each segment going up in

To work this out, you need to remember that there are 360 degrees in a circle
That survey means there are 360 degrees to share between each of the people who took part in the many degrees does each HowCalculate the Angles person get?... Well, divide 360 by the number of people surveyed! To 1. Add up the total number of pieces of data 2. Divide 360 by this number this tells you how many degrees is allocated to each piece of data 3. To work out the size of angle for each category, multiply the answer to 2. by the number of people in each category rounding your answers sensibly if you need to. 4. Check: Before you start to draw, make sure you check that your total number of degrees does add up to 360!

Our Example:
1. So, we have a total of 72 teachers who were surveyed. 2. 360 72 = 5 So each teacher is worth 5 degrees on our pie chart 3. We know how many teachers are in each segment, so lets use our answer to 2. to work out what angle each segment gets

TV Show Lost Heroes Desperate Housewives Countdown Teachers TV The Beauty of Maths 12 10 4 15 13 18

Total

Working Out 12 x 5 = 60 10 x 5 = 50 4 x 5 = 20 15 x 5 = 75 13 x 5 = 65 18 x 5 = 90 600 500 200 750 650 900

Angle of Segment

Remember: Check this column adds up to 360 before you move on!

2. Drawing the Pie Chart

Youve done all the hard work, and drawing the pie chart should be easy but youll be amazed how many people mess it up, so take your time and follow these steps 1. Draw a circle using a compass. Mark the centre with a dot and draw a straight line from the centre up to the right of your circle

2. Carefully place your angle measurer along the line, with the centre exactly on the centre of the circle. Now, count around from 0 until you reach the correct number of degrees in this case 600 and place a dot

3. Join up your dot to the centre with a straight line, and label your segment.

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4. Now, this is the tricky bit turn your pie chart clockwise until your new line is horizontal (where the first line used to be). Now you can mark your next angle in exactly the same way.

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5. Keep doing this until you have drawn all your segments Check: You will know if you have got it right if the line to make your final segment is the very first line you drew! 6. If you want to you can colour in your segments, but you must remember to label them clearly, or add a key!

Maths Teachers' Favourite TV Shows

Lost Heroes Desperate Housewives Countdown Teachers TV The Beauty of Maths

3. What CAN we tell from Pie Charts

see that ofWell, if you look back at our pie chart, you willour mathsit shows pretty clearly that The Beauty Maths was the most popular choice amongst teachers, whereas Desperate Housewives was the least popular

If you fancy, you might be able teacherswant to be really to Desperate Housewivesto say things like: roughly 3 times as many preferred Lost

4. What CANT we tell from Pie Charts

Well, imagine we were just given our pie (and no original data), said: how many maths teachers said that Countdowncharttheir favourite show?,and someonewe say?... was what would

Well, probably not a lot, because there is no way of knowing!

Unless question!we are told how many people were surveyed all together, we cannot answer that When making 100% true! statements based on Pie Charts, just make sure what you are saying is definitely,

5. Interpreting Pie Charts

Big Example 2 240 Maths teachers were asked what is your favourite drink? and a pie chart was drawn to show to information. Work out how many teachers preferred coffee

Coffee

Tea

o 84o 108 24o o Milk 60 o 48o 36 J20 Water

Squash
To answer this question we must do the opposite of what we did when we were drawing the pie chart we must use our angles to find our totals! Lets look at coffee it takes up 840 out of 3600, and what we want to know is how much does it take up out of our 240 people? Well, what about using this as an excuse to show off our Algebra skills!...

84 ? = 360 240

Multiply both sides by 240

84 240 = ? 360

So, turning to our calculator, we get an answer of 56 people

Good luck with your revision!