Part of the GED Mathematical Reasoning test focuses on your ability to understand data presented in graph form, whether a graph, plot, histogram, or table. You may also be asked to plot data points on a coordinate plane.
Graphs are used more for revealing the significance of data and spotting trends and less for presenting precise values. During the actual test, you may be instructed to click an area of the graph to plot a point; you just need to get pretty close to the precise spot.
The following practice questions ask you to interpret sales data from a chart, and to determine when a rocket stops accelerating, based on its speed and altitude.
Practice questions
The Haute Couture Hat Company of Lansing, Michigan, produces designer hats for women who feel that they require a hat to complete an outfit. The company's sales vary from quarter to quarter and factory to factory. The following chart reflects its sales for one year:
In which of the three factories and in which quarters are sales figures approximately in the ratio of 2:1?
A. east and west in second quarter
B. west and north in third quarter
C. east and north in third quarter
D. west and east in first quarter
A rocket launches and accelerates as shown in the following graph.
At what altitude does the rocket's speed begin to level off?
E. 100 meters
F. 300 meters
G. 500 meters
H. 700 meters
Answers and explanations
C. East and north in the third quarter.
Looking at the graph, in the third quarter, the east plant seems to have produced twice (ratio of 2:1) as many hats as the north plant.
This answer is considered an approximation because the graphs aren't perfectly accurate.
G.
Speed is measured along the y (vertical) axis, while acceleration is measured along the x (horizontal) axis. Follow the line from left to right, and you see that the rocket's speed steadily increases until the rocket reaches 500 meters, at which point the increase in speed slows.