Exemplar 8: Ancillaries 

Table of Contents
Page 11

A typical pie chart shows information in a circle with divisions, where relationships between facts can be seen easily.

Illustration of a pie chart d

In this example, the slices of the pie chart show the results of a survey of preferences for activities. Each activity is shown as a larger or smaller piece of the pie according to the number of people who chose that activity as their favorite way to spend time. A pie chart shows quickly the relative importance between different included factors. For example, the level of popularity of activities surveyed for this chart are quite obvious. A pie chart is also a very straightforward way to convey factual information. It would take a long time to explain in words or text what this pie chart shows at a glance.

Take another look at the pie chart and see if you can answer the following questions.

  • What is the most popular activity of those surveyed?
  • What is the least popular activity of those surveyed?
  • Which activities are similar in popularity among those surveyed?
  • Which activity is twice as popular as one or more other activities?