Understanding Proportional Relationships
Student Summary
Graphing is a way to help make sense of relationships.
But the graph of a line on a coordinate plane without labels or a scale isn’t very helpful. Without labels, we can’t tell what the graph is about or what units are being used. Without an appropriate scale, we can’t tell any specific values.
Here are the same graphs, but now with labels and a scale:
Notice how adding labels lets us know that the relationship compares time and distance and helps to understand both the speed and pace of two different items. When adding labels to axes, be sure to include units, such as minutes and miles.
Notice how adding a scale makes it possible to identify specific points and values. When adding a scale to an axis, be sure that the space between each grid line represents the same amount.
Visual / Anchor Chart
