for the different formats of graphs in paper 6 biology::
(a) Graphs
(i) The independent variable should be plotted on the x-axis (horizontal axis) and the
dependent variable plotted on the y-axis (vertical axis).
(ii) Each axis will be labelled with the physical quantity and the appropriate unit, e.g.
time / s.
(iii) The graph is the whole diagrammatic presentation. It may have one or several
curves plotted on it.
(iv) Curves and lines joining points on the graph should be referred to as 'curves'.
(v) Points on the curve should be clearly marked as crosses (x) or encircled dots ( ).
If a further curve is included, vertical crosses (+) may be used to mark the points.
(b) Pie Charts
These should be drawn with the sectors in rank order, largest first, beginning at 'noon'
and proceeding clockwise. Pie Charts should preferably contain no more than six
sectors.
(c) Bar Charts
These are drawn when one of the variables is not numerical, e.g. percentage of
vitamin C in different fruits. They should be made up of narrow blocks of equal width
that do not touch.
(d) Column Graphs
These are drawn when plotting frequency graphs from discrete data, e.g. frequency of
occurrence of leaves with different numbers of prickles or pods with different numbers
of seeds. They should be made up of narrow blocks of equal width that do not touch.
(e) Histograms
These are drawn when plotting frequency graphs with continuous data, e.g., frequency
of occurrence of leaves of different lengths. The blocks should be drawn in order of
increasing or decreasing magnitude and they should be touching.
