text: 1
  Vote
  
  # how do you differentiate between categories in a pie chart?
  
  By Lee Mansfield on the 11th of June, 2012
  
  • 1
  Vote
  
  Pie charts are often colour-coded so that you can tell what each slice represents. Which colour belongs to which category is given in what is called a "key".
  
  By Jim Gather on the 11th of June, 2012
  
  ## Draw and interpret pie charts
  
  Pie charts are a way of displaying data. They get their name because they look a bit like pies from above, with different sized slices of pie being cut depending on the data you have.
  
  I your exam, you'll need to know both how to read pie charts, and also how to construct your own.
  
  Example:
  
  First things first, we need to know how to read the data represented in a pie chart.
  
  The chart below represents the results of a survey on a class of 24 students to find out their favourite colours.
  
  Looking at the graph we can tell straight away, that half the class picked blue as their favourite colour. Yellow came in second with a quarter of the class choosing it, then red and green joint last with an eigth each.
  
  So by using the fractions of the circle, we can see that 12 students favour blue, 6 favour yellow,  3 favour green and 3 favour red.
  
  To fully understand what a pie chart is you will need to know how to construct one
  
  Constructing a Pie chart:
  
  In order to construct a pie chart, we first need to find out the fraction of the total that each slice represents.
  
  1. First work out the total frequency. This can be done by adding all the frequencies together.
  2. Find the fraction of the total frequency for each colour. = Frequency/Total Frequency
  3. Then find the angle. = (Frequency/Total frequency) x 360
  
  This will give you the angles shown in the table below, and then you just have to draw the graph using those angles.
  
   Colour Frequency Angle Blue 5 (5÷40)x360 = 45 Red 10 (10÷40) x 360 = 90 Green 10 (10÷40) x 360 = 90 Purple 15 (15÷40) x 360 = 135 Total 40 360
  
  To draw a pie chart, follow the steps listed below:
  
  1. Draw a circle using a compass
  2. From the centre draw a line vertically up. This will be the 0° line.
  3. Using a protractor and the 0° line use the angles you worked out to plot the pie char
  
  ## Follow the links below to see how this topic has appeared in past exam papers
  
  AQA Unit 1 March 2011 (F) - Page 9, Question 5c
  
  AQA Unit 1 November 2011 (F) - Page 6, Question 4
  
  Edexcel Paper 1 November 2010 (F) - Page 16, Question 15
  
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explanation: The document provides an explanation and a question about how to differentiate between categories in a pie chart, followed by an answer. It also includes additional information on how to construct and interpret pie charts.
distilabel_metadata.content: Evaluate the user given text extract and determine if it contains a math question and optionally and answer to this question.
  
  Output rules:
  
  1. Briefly describe the document and mention if it contains a question or a question and answer.
  2. Finalize the output with: Label: no-question,question,question-and-answer,multiple-question,multiple-question-and-answer
distilabel_metadata.role: system
distilabel_metadata.content: 1
  Vote
  
  # how do you differentiate between categories in a pie chart?
  
  By Lee Mansfield on the 11th of June, 2012
  
  • 1
  Vote
  
  Pie charts are often colour-coded so that you can tell what each slice represents. Which colour belongs to which category is given in what is called a "key".
  
  By Jim Gather on the 11th of June, 2012
  
  ## Draw and interpret pie charts
  
  Pie charts are a way of displaying data. They get their name because they look a bit like pies from above, with different sized slices of pie being cut depending on the data you have.
  
  I your exam, you'll need to know both how to read pie charts, and also how to construct your own.
  
  Example:
  
  First things first, we need to know how to read the data represented in a pie chart.
  
  The chart below represents the results of a survey on a class of 24 students to find out their favourite colours.
  
  Looking at the graph we can tell straight away, that half the class picked blue as their favourite colour. Yellow came in second with a quarter of the class choosing it, then red and green joint last with an eigth each.
  
  So by using the fractions of the circle, we can see that 12 students favour blue, 6 favour yellow,  3 favour green and 3 favour red.
  
  To fully understand what a pie chart is you will need to know how to construct one
  
  Constructing a Pie chart:
  
  In order to construct a pie chart, we first need to find out the fraction of the total that each slice represents.
  
  1. First work out the total frequency. This can be done by adding all the frequencies together.
  2. Find the fraction of the total frequency for each colour. = Frequency/Total Frequency
  3. Then find the angle. = (Frequency/Total frequency) x 360
  
  This will give you the angles shown in the table below, and then you just have to draw the graph using those angles.
  
   Colour Frequency Angle Blue 5 (5÷40)x360 = 45 Red 10 (10÷40) x 360 = 90 Green 10 (10÷40) x 360 = 90 Purple 15 (15÷40) x 360 = 135 Total 40 360
  
  To draw a pie chart, follow the steps listed below:
  
  1. Draw a circle using a compass
  2. From the centre draw a line vertically up. This will be the 0° line.
  3. Using a protractor and the 0° line use the angles you worked out to plot the pie char
  
  ## Follow the links below to see how this topic has appeared in past exam papers
  
  AQA Unit 1 March 2011 (F) - Page 9, Question 5c
  
  AQA Unit 1 November 2011 (F) - Page 6, Question 4
  
  Edexcel Paper 1 November 2010 (F) - Page 16, Question 15
  
  ## Related Questions
  
  • 0
  7
  
  ### What is escrow?
  
  By RBarr1 on the 30th of August, 2017
  
  • 1
  Vote
  4
  
  ### What is a coordinate grid?
  
  By Ryan McGuire on the 10th of January, 2013
  
  • 1
  Vote
  3
  
  ### What is the general form for a quadratic equation?
  
  By Filsan on the 10th of January, 2013
  
  • 1
  Vote
  2
  
  ### What does the graph of Y = x Linear look like?
  
  By Filsan on the 10th of January, 2013
  
  • 1
  Vote
  3
  
  ### What is the equation of a straight line graph?
  
  By Filsan on the 10th of January, 2013
  
  • 0
  4
  
  ### How do I find 15% of a value?
  
  By Verity Painter on the 8th of January, 2013
  
  • 1
  Vote
  1
  
  ### How do I create a pie chart in excel?
  
  By Verity Painter on the 8th of January, 2013
  
  • 1
  Vote
  1
  
  ### how to make a pie chart
  
  By Verity Painter on the 7th of January, 2013
  
  • 1
  Vote
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distilabel_metadata.role: user
distilabel_metadata.raw_output_q_a_detector_0: The document provides an explanation and a question about how to differentiate between categories in a pie chart, followed by an answer. It also includes additional information on how to construct and interpret pie charts.
  
  Label: question-and-answer