SSAT Upper Level Math : How to read graphs

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Upper Level Math

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Interpretation Of Tables And Graphs

Graph_2

 

Refer to the above graph. Which of the following comes closest to the percent of increase in population enjoyed by Jones City between 1900 and 1950?

Possible Answers:

20% increase

60% increase

40% increase

100% increase

80% increase

Correct answer:

60% increase

Explanation:

In 1900, the population was about 3,500; in 1950, it was about 5,600. A reasonable estimate of the percent of increase would be 

so 60% would be the most reasonable choice.

Example Question #1 : How To Read Graphs

Weird

The above figure shows two black quarter-circles inscribed inside a rectangle. If the black region has area 200, what is the area of the white region (nearest tenth)?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If the radius of each quarter-circle is  , the black region has area

Set   and solve for :

The area of the rectangle, which we will call  , is 

The area of the white region is the difference of these two areas, or 

Example Question #12 : Interpretation Of Tables And Graphs

High and low

Refer to the above graph, which shows the high and low temperatures for Kingdom City over a one-week period.

Tim wants to know the high temperature for the Sunday of the next week. He does not have access to that information, but he knows that it was higher than those of exactly four of the five previous days, and lower than that of one of them. Which of the following temperatures could have been the high temperature for that day?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since we are dealing with the day after the last one shown, and we are comparing that day's high temperature to those of the previous five days, we only need to concern ourselves with the high temperatures for Tuesday through Saturday. 

Examine the figure below, which shows the high temperature line for those five days. 

High and low 2

For the high temperature for the next Sunday to be greater than exactly four of the five and less than the remaining one, the temperature must be strictly between the highest and second-highest high temperatures, which are seen to be 78 and 74 degrees, respectively. That is, if we let  be the temperature in degrees, 

Of the four choices, only 75 falls in this range.

Example Question #3 : How To Read Graphs

High and low

Refer to the above graph, which shows the high and low temperatures for Kingdom City over a one-week period.

Which of the following temperatures occurred at least once on each of the seven days?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The graph is recreated in the figure below, with horizontal lines at the 57, 62, 67, and 72 degree levels.

High and low 2

It can be seen that of the four lines, only the 62 degree line falls between the high temperature and low temperature for each of the seven days. This is the correct choice.

Example Question #5 : How To Read Graphs

High and low

Refer to the above graph, which shows the high and low temperatures for Kingdom City over a one-week period. The temperatures at left are given in degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures given in degrees Fahrenheit can be converted to the Celsius scale using the formula

.

Express the lowest temperature of the week in degrees Celsius (nearest whole degree).

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

As can be seen below, the lowest temperature for the week was , on Monday.

Untitled 5

 

 

To convert this to degrees Celsius, set  and substitute in the given formula:

 degrees Celsius. The closest choice is .

Example Question #3 : How To Read Graphs

High and low

Refer to the above graph, which shows the high and low temperatures for Kingdom City over a one-week period. The temperatures at left are given in degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures given in degrees Fahrenheit can be converted to the Celsius scale using the formula

What was the difference, in degrees Celsius, between the highest temperature and the lowest temperature for the week (to the nearest whole degree)?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

As can be seen below, the highest temperature for the week was , on Tuesday; the low temperature, , on Monday.

High and low 2

To convert the former to degrees Celsius, set  and substitute in the given formula:

.

To convert the latter, do the same, with .

.

The difference is

 , which rounds to .

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors