A bar graph represents the Monthly Pastry sales from January to June with months on the X-axis and the Number of pastries sold on the Y-axis. Orange represents 2015 and green for the year 2016
Based on the data, the journalist wrote that the monthly pastry sales in 2016 were at least twice those in 2015. Is this sales report correct?
No, because the report is based on the cumulative sales for the first six months.
Yes, because the relative size of the bars shows a drastic change when comparing sales in the two years.
No, because the relative size of the bars does not represent the ratio of 2016 sales to 2015 sales since the y-axis does not begin at zero.
Yes, because the data was collected from a reliable source.
1 answer
The correct answer is:
No, because the relative size of the bars does not represent the ratio of 2016 sales to 2015 sales since the y-axis does not begin at zero.
This answer emphasizes the importance of accurately interpreting sales data by considering how the graph is constructed. If the y-axis does not start at zero, it can exaggerate or minimize perceived differences between the two years' sales, leading to potentially misleading conclusions about sales performance.
