What is a Line Graph?

A line graph is a kind of graph that contains two or more individual data points connected by lines. These
individual data points represent a series of information, which usually explains the relationship between
the two axes (i.e. the x and y-axis) on the graph.

Also known as a line chart, it can tilt towards the positive y-axis (go up), approach the negative y-axis (go
down) or as depending on. That is, a line graph can ascend, descend, or do both depending on the kind
of data that is being evaluated.

Parts of a Line Graph

For a graph to be called a line graph, there are 5 main characteristics it must possess. These 5 main
features are the title, scale, points, labels, and line. 

To better explain these features, let us consider the graph below which illustrates the population of a
particular community over a year. 

Parts of a Line Graph

Title

The title of a line graph is what tells you what the graph is about. Just like the title of a book, an article,
or a blog post, it gives a brief description of the graph.

With the title of a line graph, you get an insight into what the graph entails, what kind of data the graph
is visualizing, and the kind of conclusion you should be looking at when viewing the graph. That way,
even before taking a proper look at the graph, you already know what to expect.
There are different approaches to writing a graph title, but some key things should be taken note of.
When writing a graph title, it should: be brief, give a proper explanation of the graph, and have catchy
phrases.

Scale

The scale of the graph explains the number of units used in defining each point on the graph. It is very
important, as it will assist the third party in correctly interpreting the graph. 

Graphs are usually manually constructed on paper, using Excel, or automatically generated with
software. In some cases, the kind of data being evaluated is either very large or has a different unit of
measurement.

Therefore, you have to generate a scale for the data, in order to properly visualize it on the graph. In the
graph above, the difference between each point on the vertical axis is 200.

Therefore, the vertical scale can be defined as “1 unit is 200 people”.

Points

Also known as the data points, this is what depicts the value of each data on the graph. Multiple data
points indicate various statistics over time.

The graph above, for instance, shows the population of a particular community over a period of time
with the data points indicating the population size at a certain time. 

Data points can also be visualized using markers as opposed to dots. 

Labels

Each axis on a line graph has a label that indicates what kind of data is represented in the graph. The X-
axis describes the data points on the line and the y-axis shows the numeric value for each point on the
line.

We have 2 types of labels namely; the horizontal label and the vertical label. The horizontal label defines
the data that is being described on the x-axis, while the vertical label defines the kind of data that is
being described on the y-axis.

With the label on the above graph, we can clearly determine that the Months are on the horizontal axis
and the Populations are on the vertical axis.

Line

The line gives an estimate of the values between each point in discrete functions, while it gives the
actual data in continuous functions. We may also say that the line is the actual graph, while the other
parts of the graph are just guides that will help you understand the line. 

A line is generated by joining the points on a graph together. When constructing a line graph, the points
are joined together using a straight line. 

With a line on a graph, you can determine the behavior of the data at a glance
Types of Line Graphs

There are 3 main types of line graphs in statistics namely, a simple line graph, a multiple line graph, and
a compound line graph. Each of these graph types has different uses depending on the kind of data that
is being evaluated. 

Simple Line Graph

A simple line graph is a kind of graph that is plotted with only a single line. Like in the diagram above,
shows the relationship between two variables.

In most cases, one of these variables is independent, while the other is a dependent variable. The
independent variable is usually time, but it can also be any other factor.

In the example illustrated above Earnings is the dependent variable while the Year is the independent
variable. This illustration indicates the yearly earnings of an individual over a 5-year period.

Multiple Line Graph

A multiple line graph is a line graph that is plotted with two or more lines. It is used to depict two or
more variables that change over the same period of time. 

The independent variable is usually on the horizontal axis, while the 2 or more dependent variables  are
on the vertical axis. For example, if you want to compare the population of full-time and part-time
students in a school over a couple of years, you need to visualize it using a multiple line graph.
Compound Line Graph

This type of chart is used when information can be subdivided into different types. It is a development
on the simple line graph which shows the total data proportion and the different layers that make up
the data. 

When constructing a compound line chart, you need to first construct multiple line graphs, then shade
each part to indicate the component of each data from the total. Each of the bottom lines indicates a
part of the total, while the top line is the total.

On a compound line graph, the distance between every 2 consecutive lines shows the size of each part,
with the bottom line being bounded by the origin.

////////////// source: https://www.formpl.us/resources/graph-chart/line/

Vertical Line Graph

Vertical line graphs are graphs in which a vertical line extends from each data point down to the
horizontal axis. Vertical line graph sometimes also called a column graph. A line parallel to the y-axis is
called a vertical line.

Horizontal Line Graph

Horizontal line graphs are graphs in which a horizontal line extends from each data point parallel to the
earth. Horizontal line graph sometimes also called a row graph. A line parallel to the x-axis is called a
vertical line

/////////// source: https://byjus.com/maths/line-graph/

What are the steps in creating a line graph?

The steps in creating a line graph are as follows.

 Give a title to the line graph.

 Draw the x-axis and y-axis on the page and label them. The x-axis is an independent variable
which is usually a time period and the y-axis is a dependent variable which is usually a quantity.
For example, you may label the x-axis with independent variables like hours or months,
indicating that each number written on the axis is the number of hours or months. Divide each
axis evenly into applicable increments.
 Add data to the line graph by creating a two-column table with values and plot the data points
and join them by line segments.
 If multiple line items are being compared, lines with different colors should be drawn to avoid
confusion and a key should be created to clearly distinguish each one of them.

Line Graph Solved Examples

Example 1: A bookshop made a line graph of the number of books it sold each week during a certain
period. Based on the information provided in the above line graph, find how many fewer books were
sold in week 8 than in week 7.

Solution:

Number of books sold in week 7 = 90

Number of books sold in week 8 = 10
So, the difference = 80
Therefore, there were 80 fewer books sold in week 8 as compared to week 7.
Example 2: The temperature of a city from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on a day was recorded in the form of a line
graph as shown below. Study the graph and answer the following questions.
a) At which time of the day was the temperature 40° F?
b) What was the maximum recorded temperature?

Solution:

a) The temperature was 40° F at 5 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

b) The maximum recorded temperature was 60° F.

Example 3: Study the following graph to answer the given questions: Production of two companies A & B
over the years is as shown in the figure. For company A, what is the percent decrease in production from
1994 to 1995?

Solution:
Company A's production in 1994 = 4 million units; Company A's production in 1995 = 3 million units;
Difference in production 1994 to 1995 for company A = 4 - 3 =1; Original production = 4

Using the formula :

% Decrease = (Decrease in production/Original production) × 100

Required percentage decrease = 14×100=25%14×100=25%

Therefore, there was a decrease of 25%.

//////////// source: https://www.cuemath.com/data/line-graphs/