Question

3.2 homework
name:

1. analyze the graphs in the following examples. look for any structures of the graphs that could mislead the reader into misinterpreting the information. write a short summary of any issues that you find.

a.
source: https://venngage.com/blog/misleading-graphs/

Explanation:

The graph of "COVID - 19 CASES IN THE U.S." has a misleading y - axis. The y - axis labels (0, 5, 20, 35, 50, 65k) are inconsistent in scale. The first few intervals (0 - 5, 5 - 20, etc.) are much smaller than the last interval (50 - 65k), while the x - axis time intervals are also unevenly spaced (e.g., from 2/21/20 to 3/1/20 is about 10 days, but from 3/20/20 to 3/24/20 is 4 days). This inconsistent scaling on both axes can exaggerate the rate of increase of COVID - 19 cases, making the growth seem steeper and faster than it might actually be when considering proper scale and time interval consistency.

Answer:

The graph has inconsistent y - axis scaling (uneven value intervals) and uneven x - axis time intervals, which can mislead readers into overestimating the rate of COVID - 19 case growth.