Graphing Practice

Graphing Practice
Name: ______________________
Directions: Use the following information to create a line graph. Read it carefully to pick out
clues about how to set up the graph. You’ll want to refer to the previous information on
constructing graphs.
Graph #1
Marie and Seth are working on a lab activity where they are tracking some leaves that are
floating past them in a rain runoff channel near their home. They have to measure how far the
leaves travel in different amounts of time. They place a long tape measure along side of the
runoff channel to measure distance. A borrowed stopwatch will let them record the amount of
time. They plan to have time intervals that begin at two seconds, and increase by two’s until
they get to 20 seconds. The data they recorded is below:
a. What is the independent variable? ____________________________________
b. What is the dependent variable? ______________________________________
Time in Seconds Distance in cm
2 5.5
4 11.8
6 16.4
8 22.2
10 27.5
12 33.3
14 38.6
15 44.0
18 49.1
20 54.3
Create a line graph with all the appropriate parts.
1

Graphing Practice
Name: ______________________
Graph #2
A farmer has asked you to keep records concerning the water temperature and the number of
clams developing from fertilized eggs. He basically wants to know the best temperature to get
the most eggs. Below is the data you have discovered. Please create a bar graph to show the
clam farmer your results.
Water Temperature o C
Number of Developing Clams
15 75
20 90
25 120
30 140
35 75
40 40
45 15
50 0
a. What is the independent variable? _________________________________
b. What is the dependent variable? __________________________________
c. What is the best temperature to raise clams? _________________________
2