Chapter 1

Graphs

Graphs are a tool to help display data and trends.

They show information that would be very dicult to see from just a table.
Some graphs are truncated, i.e. they do not start from 0.

Example.

Example.

See Wikipedia for a good resources on misleading data.

Three Important Features of a Graph

There are three main features of a graph. These represent dierent important things, depending
on the quantity being graphed.
The height of the graph.
The slope of the graph.
The area under the graph.

We will explore many examples in this unit showing you why these 3 quantities are important.

Slope of a Graph
If the graph of function is a straight line, it makes sense to talk about the slope of the line :
Slope =
A

positive slope goes up to the right.

negative slope goes down to the right.

The

Rise
.
Run

size of the number tells you how steep the line is.

Examples.

What happens if the graph is not straight?

Example.

Denition: We dene the slope of a graph at a point to be the slope of the tangent line at
that point. (What's a tangent?)

Example.

Area Under a Graph

The third important feature of a graph is the area underneath the graph between two particular
vertical lines.

How do we measure this area? A straightforward way is by by approximation with rectangles.

Example.

Prot ($ per year)

What does the area between curve between A and B represent?

What does the area between curve between B and C represent?
Where is prot increasing at the greatest rate? Decreasing athe greatest rate?
Overall, does this company make a prot or a loss for the period A to F ?

t (years)

Stories Behind a Graph

x

B CD

F G

Cross section of a mountain

Suppose the graph represents the cross-section of a countryside.
1. What is the highest peak?
2. Where is the mountain the steepest?
3. A river ows through this landscape out of the board. Where is the bottom of the river?
4. Where would be the best place for an orchard?

B CD

F G

Position of a Cyclist
Suppose the graph represents the distance between a cyclist and his home along a straight northsouth road, where positive x represents being north of his home.
1. Where does he start and nish? How many times does he ride past his house?
2. Where is he riding the fastest?
3. Does he spend more time north of home or south of home?
4. At what point in time did he realise it was dinner time?

B CD

F G

Velocity of a Cyclist
Suppose the graph represents the velocity of a cyclist along a straight north-south road, where
positive x represents a velocity travelling north.
1. Where is he riding the fastest?
2. From A to H , describe the journey.
3. Where does he start and nish?
4. Suppose he is at home at time F ; is he at home at any other time?

B CD

F G

Weekly Savings
Suppose the graph represents the weekly savings over the lifetime of John Maynard Keynes, from
when he started working (A) to when he died (H).
1. During what period did he have to dip into his savings?
2. When did he have the largest bank balance?
3. When was his income exactly equal to his expenditure?
4. When did he get married? You need to make clear some assumptions about marriage!

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Example.

Suppose the rate of change R of a population depends on the current population P and also the
dierence between the current population and the carrying capacity L in the following way:
R = kP (L P )

for a positive constant k

1. Graph of R? (In terms of P .)
2. For what values of P is the population increasing? Decreasing? For what values of P does
the population not changing?
3. If the population starts well under the carrying capacity, what is the behaviour of P over
time?
4. If the population starts over the carrying capacity, what is the behaviour of P over time?

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Example.

The graph shows the temperature of two yams, put into an oven at the same time.
1. One of the yams is bigger than the other. Which? Which graph corresponds to the bigger
yam, and which to the smaller?
2. The functions are of the form Y (t) = 200 aebt . How do the constants a and b vary between
Y1 (t) and Y2 (t)?
T
200
160
120
80
40
10

20

12

30

40

Example.

Gini index: a measure of inequality. Let f be the fraction of wealth owned by the poorest p% of
the population.
1. What is f when p = 0? p = 100?
2. Does f increase with p? Decrease?
3. What is your expectation of f when p = 10? p = 20?
4. Can you determine whther f changes by more when p changes from 10 to 20, or from 20 to
30?
5. What is the shape of the graph of f against p?

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