Graphs, data and probability
Reading bar graphs: scales, totals and comparisons
Read labelled bar graphs, compare values, calculate totals and explain what a graph can and cannot tell you. Includes six printable practice questions with worked answers.
Grades 5–7 practice · 6 questions · Free to print · Answers included
Make sense of the method
A bar graph compares categories. Read the title, category labels, units and vertical scale before looking at which bar is tallest.
The graphs here use invented data for practice. A bar gives the value for its category; it does not explain why that value occurred.
- Name what is being counted or measured and its units.
- Find the value between adjacent labelled ticks; do not assume each tick means one.
- Read each bar against the scale, then add, subtract or compare as the question asks.
- Answer in context and separate a supported observation from a guess about its cause.
A worked example
The graph shows postcards made by three groups. How many more did Birch make than Ash?
- Each labelled interval represents 5 postcards.
- Ash made 15 and Birch made 25.
- 25 − 15 = 10 postcards.
Birch made 10 more postcards.
Try the worksheet
Start with the first two questions, then build toward the final challenge. Show your method with calculations, drawings or a short explanation. These are practice questions with published answers, not a full-topic readiness check.
Build the foundation
1.Read the graph. How many pages were completed on Wednesday? State the units.
Show your work on paper.Build the foundation
2.Which day had the most completed pages, and how many more than Monday?
Show your work on paper.Strengthen your method
3.How many pages were completed altogether across the four days? Show the addition.
Show your work on paper.Strengthen your method
4.The club hoped to finish 40 pages in these four days. How many more pages were needed?
Show your work on paper.Apply and explain
5.What fraction of the four-day total was completed on Thursday? Simplify your answer and show how you chose the denominator.
Show your work on paper.Apply and explain
6.A learner says, ‘The club completed twice as many pages on Thursday as on Monday because everyone worked twice as long.’ Which part does the graph support? Which part needs more information?
Show your work on paper.
Worked answers
Try the questions first. Then compare the reasoning, not just the final result.
Show all six worked solutions
1. 8 pages.
- The vertical axis counts pages, in intervals of 2.
- Wednesday's bar reaches 8, so 8 pages were completed.
2. Thursday; 6 more pages.
- Thursday's bar is highest at 12 pages. Monday has 6.
- 12 − 6 = 6 more pages.
3. 36 pages.
- Read the four values: 6, 10, 8 and 12.
- 6 + 10 + 8 + 12 = 36 pages.
4. 4 more pages.
- The graph total is 6 + 10 + 8 + 12 = 36.
- 40 − 36 = 4 pages still needed.
5. 1/3 of the pages.
- The whole is all 36 completed pages, not the four days.
- Thursday contributed 12, giving 12/36.
- Divide numerator and denominator by 12: 12/36 = 1/3.
6. It supports twice as many pages, but not twice as much working time or the proposed cause.
- Thursday has 12 pages and Monday has 6; 12 ÷ 6 = 2.
- The graph records pages, not minutes, attendance or difficulty.
- We need time records and other relevant information to investigate the explanation.
Mistakes worth catching
Counting tick marks instead of reading the scale.
Use the labelled interval: one step may stand for 2, 5 or 10 units.
Explaining a cause from bar heights alone.
Report the comparison first; say what extra evidence would be needed to explain it.
Turn your work into a next step
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If this feels difficult
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Skills covered
Graphs, data and probability
- Read graph titles, labels, scales and values.
- Compare quantities, calculate totals and explain what the data supports.
Choose this practice by the skills you need. Grade placement and strand names vary between school systems; one worksheet covers selected skills rather than every expectation in a topic.
Related practice
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