Data Through Pictures
Collecting data, tally marks, tables, pictographs with a scale, and bar graphs: reading them and making your own.
- Collecting and organising data in a table
- Using tally marks to count quickly
- Pictographs with a scale (one picture = many items)
- Bar graphs: reading and drawing them
- Answering questions and making predictions from data
🎤 Let’s Begin: Class Survey
Class 5 wanted to choose one fruit for the school picnic. Monitor Aditi asked everyone, “Which fruit do you like best?” She wrote the names on the board. Soon the board was full, and it was hard to see which fruit won!
So she made a neat table, then a picture chart. Now everyone could see the answer in one look: mango won! 🥭
✋ Part 1: Tally Marks and Tables
Tally marks help us count while collecting data. Draw one line for each vote. The 5th line is drawn across the first four, so |||| = 5.
| Fruit | Tally | Number of children |
|---|---|---|
| Mango | 13 | |
| Banana | 7 | |
| Apple | 10 | |
| Guava | |||| | 4 |
Total = 13 + 7 + 10 + 4 = 34 children
🖼️ Part 2: Pictographs with a Scale
When the numbers are big, drawing one picture for each item takes too long. So we use a scale: one picture stands for many items.
Books donated to the school library (📘 = 10 books)
| Class | Pictures | Books |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | 📘📘📘 | 30 |
| Class 4 | 📘📘📘📘📘 | 50 |
| Class 5 | 📘📘📘📘📘📘📘 | 70 |
Class 5 donated the most. It gave 70 − 30 = 40 more than Class 3. Total = 150 books.
✅ Always check the key. 3 pictures × 10 = 30 books.
📊 Part 3: Bar Graphs
A bar graph uses bars of different heights to show data. The taller the bar, the bigger the number.
- The horizontal line (bottom) shows the categories (days, items, names).
- The vertical line (side) shows the numbers, with equal gaps.
- All bars have the same width, with equal space between them.
Example: Rainy days in a town: June 6, July 14, August 12, September 8.
The July bar is the tallest (most rain). June is the shortest. July had 14 − 6 = 8 more rainy days than June.
How to draw a bar graph
- Draw the two lines (axes) and label them.
- Choose a scale, e.g. 1 box = 2 days.
- Draw each bar up to its value, all the same width.
- Give the graph a title.
🔮 Part 4: Using Data to Decide
Data helps us make good choices. If a canteen sees that idli is wasted the least and khichdi the most, it can cook less khichdi next time. That’s how data saves food and money!
❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid
✅ Multiply the pictures by the key value.
✅ Keep the steps equal (0, 2, 4, 6…).
✅ Only the height should change.
✅ Always name the graph and both lines.
✏️ Practice Time
Try these on your own first, then check your answer below each question.
📘 NCERT Textbook Activity Help
Hints and answers for the activities in the textbook, page by page. Try each one yourself before looking at the answer!
Pages 179–180 · Child TV ReporterHours spent watching TV
Hint: Tick off each speech bubble as you count it, so you don’t count any twice. The total must be 35.
| Hours | Children |
|---|---|
| ½ hour | 9 |
| 1 hour | 13 |
| 1½ hours | 7 |
| 2 hours | 3 |
| More than 2 hours (2½) | 3 |
| Total | 35 |
Yes, watching TV for a long time can strain the eyes, so take breaks and play outside!
Joseph Uncle’s pictograph
(1) 8 icons × 5 = 40 toys (2) 10 × 5 = 50 board games (3) Sports items: 12 × 5 = 60, so the total = 40 + 50 + 60 = 150 play items
Another scale: 1 icon = 10 items → 4 toys, 5 board games, and 6 sports-item icons.
Deepti’s pictograph
1. Friday 2. 24 + 12 + 36 = 72 3. 24 − 12 = 12 fewer 4. 36 − 12 = 24 more 5. With 1 icon = 6: Monday 4, Wednesday 2, Friday 6 icons.
Raman and Sheela
Sheela: sleeping 8 h, school 7 h, studying 4 h, eating and playing 3 h, other 2 h.
Raman used pictures (a pictograph). Sheela used bars (a bar graph).
1. Raman 2. Sheela 3. 4 − 2 = 2 hours more 4. No, none of the activities are the same 5. Open answer. For example, Raman gets more sleep and play, and Sheela studies more. A balanced day has enough sleep, study, and play.
Your own graphs
Canteen bar graph
1. Khichdi (Wednesday) 2. Idli-Sambar (Friday) 3. 30 kg 4. 30 × 3 = 90 children 5. For example, Friday had less wastage than Wednesday (or Monday less than Tuesday) 6. Khichdi is likely to be wasted the most.
To reduce waste: take only as much food as you can eat, cook less of the items that are often wasted, and give clean leftover food to people who need it, or compost it.
Observe the children
Hint: Count carefully and make a small table: girl or boy, cap, glasses, book, backpack.
All girls are wearing glasses: False · 10 children are wearing caps: True
More boys are holding books than girls: False (it’s about equal, 7 each) · More than half are wearing glasses: False (7 out of 17)
More children are holding books than wearing caps: True (14 > 10) · More boys than girls wear glasses: True (4 and 3)
Some children are wearing both glasses and caps: True · “There is no child with a cap, a book, and a backpack”: False (the girl at the back left has all three)
👨👩👧 Tips for Parents
- Help your child survey family and neighbours (favourite sweet, colour, or game) and make a pictograph.
- Track daily temperature or rainfall for a week and draw a bar graph together.
- Look at graphs in newspapers and ask, “What does this tell us?”