Question

Suppose you are going to graph the data in the table below. What data should be represented on each axis, and what would be the appropriate increments? (2 points)

Reporting periods Sales
Jan.–Mar., 2010 $100,000
Apr.–Jun., 2010 $55,000
Jul.–Sep., 2010 $45,000
Oct.–Dec., 2010 $110,000
Jan.–Mar., 2011 $330,000
Apr.–Jun., 2011 $800,000
Jul.–Sep., 2011 $242,000
Oct.–Dec., 2011 $150,000
Select one:
a. x-axis: time period in increments of 1 month; y-axis: sales in increments of $1,000
b. x-axis: sales in increments of $1,000; y-axis: time period in increments of 1 month
c. x-axis: time period in increments of 3 months; y-axis: sales in increments of $100,000
d. x-axis: sales in increments of $100,000; y-axis: time period in increments of 3 months

Answer 1

the x-axis is used for the independent variable
would that be the reporting periods? or the sales?

if you're not sure, think about which variable determines the other - does the reporting period determine the sales, or does the sales determine the reporting period?

once you have that down, think about what scale and increments you would need to display the data properly. remember, too small increments will result in your data taking too much space/getting cut off, and too big increments will shrink your graph down to the point where it's not visible