Pie Charts

Last time I looked at the terminology for lines and circles. This time I will relate this terminology to pie charts (not the Greek letter pi but pie charts look like pies). If you have read my previous blogs then you know that I prefer cakes to pies but nobody calls them cake charts, but I want you to think of slicing a round cake. If you have played Trivial Pursuit it may also be worth thinking about the pies that you have to win in order to complete the game.

You have to leave the slices in place after you have cut your cake. As a diagram you may want to colour in different slices so that they are clearly distinguishable. Pie charts give you information at a glance. They can give you a rough idea about who has had most possession in a game of football, or they may give you a rough idea of the composition of the House of Commons.

They only give rough ideas as they show sectors (see the recent blog circles and lines) of the circle. If you want more specific information then it needs to be set out in a different way.

That sums it up.