Pictographs & Bar Graphs Notes & Questions | Class 3 Mathematics | Drishti OS

Pictographs & Bar Graphs

What you'll learn

How a pictograph uses repeated symbols (with a key) to represent data.
How a bar graph uses bars of different heights or lengths to show amounts.
To read the scale/key carefully and multiply to find real quantities.

Key concepts

Level 1 — Core idea

Verbal: In a pictograph, one symbol might stand for more than one item — the key tells us how many.

Symbolic: Total for a row = (number of symbols) × (value of each symbol).

Visual: If the key says "🍎 = 2 apples" and a row has 4 apple symbols, that row represents 4 × 2 = 8 apples.

Level 2 — Going deeper

To compare two categories in a pictograph or bar graph, first find the value for each (using the key or bar height), then subtract to find the difference, or add to find the total.

NCERT anchor

NCERT Math Mela, Class 3 — Chapter on Data Handling introduces simple pictographs of fruits, pets, and favourite games collected from classmates.

Worked example

In a pictograph, each 🍌 = 3 bananas. Tuesday's row has 5 🍌 symbols. How many bananas were sold on Tuesday?

Step 1 — Key: 1 symbol = 3 bananas
Step 2 — Symbols shown: 5
Step 3 — Total = 5 × 3 = 15
Answer: 15 bananas

A bar graph shows: Red team = 4 units, Blue team = 7 units, and each unit = 5 points. How many more points does Blue team have than Red team?

Step 1 — Red points = 4 × 5 = 20
Step 2 — Blue points = 7 × 5 = 35
Step 3 — Difference = 35 − 20 = 15
Answer: Blue team has 15 more points

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why	Fix
Counting only the symbols and ignoring the key	Forgetting the key changes the value per symbol	Always multiply the number of symbols by the key's value
Adding bar heights directly without checking the scale	Assuming each unit always equals 1	Check what one unit/block on the graph represents before calculating
Comparing raw symbol counts instead of actual values	Not converting to real quantities first	Convert every category to its real value, then compare

Quick check

Each 🍊 = 4 oranges. A row has 6 symbols. How many oranges is that?
A bar graph shows Class A = 5 units and Class B = 8 units, each unit = 2 books. How many books does each class have?
Using the graph above, how many more books does Class B have than Class A?
Stretch: If each symbol in a pictograph is worth 10 items and a row has half a symbol, what value does that represent? (5 items — half of 10)

Revision tip: Always check the key/scale first, then multiply before comparing or adding categories.

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Pictographs & Bar Graphs