Handling Data 1
2 marks · NormalA teacher drew two bar charts for the same data, but started the vertical axis at 400 and at 0 respectively. What effect does starting the axis at 400 instead of 0 have on the impression given by the chart?
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Must show: bars appear much taller/shorter than they really are, magnifies differences, misleading
Also accept: makes the differences look bigger; exaggerates changes
Common mistakes: saying it makes no difference
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Marking points
B1 · 1 mark · States it exaggerates/magnifies the difference between bars.
B2 · 1 mark · Correctly identifies this is misleading.
Worked solution
Starting the axis at 400 makes bars look much larger or smaller relative to each other, which exaggerates the differences. This can be misleading.