Data Handling • Topic 5 of 8

Pictographs

A pictograph represents data with pictures or symbols, and it is usually the first real graph a child meets because it is so intuitive: more pictures means more of something. A proper pictograph has a title, labelled categories, the picture symbols themselves, and, most important of all, a key. The key (or scale) tells you the number of items one symbol stands for, and it is the part CTET tests hardest. In the simplest pictographs one picture equals one item (a 1:1 scale). As children grow, scaled pictographs appear: one picture might stand for 2, 5 or 10 items. If the key says one apple = 2 children, then four apples mean 4 x 2 = 8 children, and a half apple stands for half the key, here 1 child. Choosing a sensible scale is a real skill: drawing 50 apples one at a time is impractical, so a key of 1 apple = 5 or 10 children keeps the graph small. To read a pictograph you check the title for context, read the key for the scale, count the full symbols, multiply by the key value, then add the value of any half symbol. To construct one you pick a fitting symbol, choose a key, and for each category draw frequency divided by the key. The advantages are obvious, appealing, easy to grasp, good for comparison, but so are the limits: awkward numbers need confusing partial pictures, very large data sets are impractical, and small exact differences are hard to show, which is exactly why the bar graph comes next.

✅ Solved examples

1. A pictograph uses an apple symbol with the key “1 apple = 2 children”. One row shows 4 full apples. How many children does that row represent?
4 apples x 2 = 8 children. You multiply the number of full symbols by the value in the key.
2. With the same key (1 apple = 2 children), a row shows 3 full apples and 1 half apple. How many children is that?
Full apples: 3 x 2 = 6. Half apple: half of 2 = 1. Total = 6 + 1 = 7 children.
3. Which single part of a pictograph must you read before you can work out any value, and why?
The key (scale). It tells you how many items one symbol stands for. Without it you cannot tell whether a picture means 1, 2, 5 or 10 items, so interpretation would be guesswork.
4. A category has a frequency of 20 and the key is “1 picture = 5 items”. How many full pictures should be drawn for it?
20 / 5 = 4 pictures. The number of symbols equals the frequency divided by the key value.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. The part of a pictograph that states how many items one symbol represents is called the:
Also called the scale.
Without it you cannot read values.
Key
2. If the key is “1 star = 10 books”, then 6 stars represent how many books?
Multiply symbols by the key.
6 x 10.
60 books
3. With the key “1 ball = 4 children”, a half ball stands for how many children?
Half of the key value.
Half of 4.
2 children
4. A frequency of 30 with a key of “1 picture = 6” needs how many full pictures?
Divide frequency by the key.
30 / 6.
5 pictures

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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