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Environmental Science 12th Edition by William Cunningham,Mary Ann Cunningham
Edition 12ISBN: 978-0077431204Environmental Science 12th Edition by William Cunningham,Mary Ann Cunningham
Edition 12ISBN: 978-0077431204 Exercise 2
Graphs are one of the most common and important ways scientists communicate their results. Learning to understand graphing techniques-the language of graphs-will help you better understand this book.
Graphs are visual presentations of data that help us identify trends and understand relationships. We could present a table of numbers, but most of us have difficulty seeing a pattern in a field of numbers. In a graph, we can quickly and easily see trends and relationships.
Below are two graphs that appeared earlier in this chapter. Often we pass quickly over graphs like these that appear in text, but it's rewarding to investigate them more closely, because their relationships can raise interesting questions. Answer the numbered questions on the next page to make sure you understand the graphs shown.
FIGURE 1 Our global ecological footprint has nearly tripled since 1961, when we began to collect global environmental data.
Source: WWF, 2008.
First let's examine the parts of a graph. Usually there is a horizontal axis (also known as the "X-axis") and a vertical axis (the "Y-axis"). Usually, in the relationship shown in a graph, one variable is thought to explain the other. In figure 1, for example, as time passes, the size of our ecological footprint grows. In this case, time is an independent variable that (at least partly) explains changes in the dependent variable, footprint.
FIGURE 2 Environmental indicators for China, 1994-2005. Income doubled, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), but the number of cars rose fourfold. Chemical oxygen demand (COD, a measure of water pollution) declined with industrial controls, but sulfer dioxide (SO₂ ) emissions increased as more coal was burned.
Source: Shao, M., et al., 2006.
Examine figure 2, which shows several indicators of China's economy and environment. This is a more complex graph than the first one because it has two Y-axes and more than one value graphed. But it follows the same principles as any other line graph.
Graphs are visual presentations of data that help us identify trends and understand relationships. We could present a table of numbers, but most of us have difficulty seeing a pattern in a field of numbers. In a graph, we can quickly and easily see trends and relationships.
Below are two graphs that appeared earlier in this chapter. Often we pass quickly over graphs like these that appear in text, but it's rewarding to investigate them more closely, because their relationships can raise interesting questions. Answer the numbered questions on the next page to make sure you understand the graphs shown.
FIGURE 1 Our global ecological footprint has nearly tripled since 1961, when we began to collect global environmental data.
Source: WWF, 2008.
First let's examine the parts of a graph. Usually there is a horizontal axis (also known as the "X-axis") and a vertical axis (the "Y-axis"). Usually, in the relationship shown in a graph, one variable is thought to explain the other. In figure 1, for example, as time passes, the size of our ecological footprint grows. In this case, time is an independent variable that (at least partly) explains changes in the dependent variable, footprint.
FIGURE 2 Environmental indicators for China, 1994-2005. Income doubled, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), but the number of cars rose fourfold. Chemical oxygen demand (COD, a measure of water pollution) declined with industrial controls, but sulfer dioxide (SO₂ ) emissions increased as more coal was burned.
Source: Shao, M., et al., 2006.
Examine figure 2, which shows several indicators of China's economy and environment. This is a more complex graph than the first one because it has two Y-axes and more than one value graphed. But it follows the same principles as any other line graph.
Explanation
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Environmental Science 12th Edition by William Cunningham,Mary Ann Cunningham
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