How To Draw A Dot Plot: 9 Steps (with Pictures) - WikiHow Life

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Terms of UseHow to Draw a Dot Plot Explore this Article methods 1 Basic Dot Plot 2 'One-Dot' Dot Plot Other Sections Questions & Answers Related Articles References Author Info

Last Updated: June 23, 2023

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 29,756 times.

Dot plots are great for solving basic math problems from anything to advanced math problems. They are used to count data in the form of dots on a plots, which is where its name (Dot Plot) comes from. There are two ways to draw Dot Plot such as the Basic and 'One-Dot' Dot Plot. If you're looking to learn how to draw both of these versions, then what better place than the land of the wikiHowians?

Steps

Method 1 Method 1 of 2:

Basic Dot Plot

1. 1 Draw the actual plot on paper or in drawing software on your computer. To begin your basic Dot Plot, draw a line long enough to hold all of your data.
2. 2 Label the plot. Labeling your plot will need to be done on the bottom, under the line you drew. Choosing whether to use Numbers or Words will depend on what your data consists of.[1]
   • Numbers should be used when your problem looks like this: "How long does it take you to eat breakfast?"
   • Words should be used when your problem looks like this: "We asked Jack, Anna, and Flickety to guess how many wikiHowian friends they have. Anna said 100, Jack said 101, and Flickety said 102. So instead of numbers at the bottom, you'd use the names of the wikiHow Admins listed in the problem instead.
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3. 3 Draw the data out onto the plot. After labeling and or numbering your Dot Plot, you now must place the data onto the table.[2]
   • For Example: If your dot plot problem says something such as this: "Krystle was asked how many cookies she gave Adelaide from 5pm to 10pm. She said she gave her 2 cookies at 5pm, 4 cookies at 6pm, 1 cookie at 7pm, 6 cookies' at 8pm, 5 cookies at 9pm, and 1 cookie at 10pm." then your Dot Plot should look just like the one in the picture above.
4. 4 Understand how to read the plot. Referring to the image within the step above, each dot was placed on the corresponding time of day representing 1 cookie per dot:
   • Adelaide received 6 cookies at 8pm, therefore eight dots have been placed onto the Dot Plot above "8pm".
   • In this example, 1 dot is equivalent to 1 cookie. As for most dot plots, the dots will more than likely be equal to 1 of something (x = 1).
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Method 2 Method 2 of 2:

'One-Dot' Dot Plot

1. 1 Compared to the Dot Plot. The 'One-Dot' Dot Plot is very similar to the Dot Plot. It's much easier to work with compared to the other. In the following image; You may notice that multiple dots are used. Meanwhile, the One-Dot uses one dot to represent the data.[3]
2. 2 Creating the 'One-Dot' is very simple, it may require a little bit more work but it's worth it when it comes to saving you time. This time, instead of drawing one line, a simple rectangular box must be drawn.
3. 3 This time you will be labeling the left side of the plot as well as the bottom, opposed to just labeling the bottom. On the left side of the rectangle you drew, you will need to label it with numbers, going up to the highest number you've been given.[4]
   • For example; If the highest number you have been given is 3, then the side should be numbered: 0, 1, 2, 3 (Going no higher than 3).
4. 4 Just as you would do to the dot plot, you must label the bottom depending on your data that you have. If your data requires numbers then you must label it with numbers, and if words are necessary then those will need to be used instead.
5. 5 Finished. Advertisement

Community Q&A

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• Question In the first dot plot, why don't you have the Y-axis? Lyka Community Answer Adding the Y-axis is up to you, whether you think it's important for the audience to know the value or label of the Y-axis or not. Sometimes, it's already enough to know which one has higher value among others based on the plots and labels are unnecessary. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1
• Question How do you draw a pie chart? David Reynolds Community Answer First calculate the percentage of the total that each category represents. Then draw a circle and divide it into slices where each slice's central angle corresponds to the category's percentage of the total. A category that represents 25% of the total, for example, would have a 90-degree central angle. Label each slice with the category name and its corresponding percentage. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
• Question How do you make a double dot plot? David Reynolds Community Answer It is created by plotting two sets of data points along the same number line, typically to compare their distributions. Each set of data is represented by dots, with each dot indicating a single data point. This plot is useful for visually comparing the similarities and differences between the two data sets, such as their range, median, and distribution. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0

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References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUxoW9S3kKs
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUxoW9S3kKs
3. ↑ https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/dot-plots.html
4. ↑ https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/dot-plots.html

About this article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 29,756 times. 48 votes - 56% Co-authors: 8 Updated: June 23, 2023 Views: 29,756

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48 votes - 56% Click a star to vote Co-authors: 8 Updated: June 23, 2023 Views: 29,756

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