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Circle graphs worksheets

A circle graph shows shares of a whole rather than amounts, so reading one always takes a second step. These free printable worksheets give the chart and the total, and ask how many the shaded share actually comes to.

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Circle graphs
Circle graphs worksheet — Whole percents, totals to 200, free printable with answer key

The answer key prints on a separate page.

What's on this sheet

Twenty-five percent of the circle is a quarter of it, and a quarter of two hundred is fifty. The chart says the fraction and the caption says the total, and the question cannot be answered from either alone — which is the one thing a pie chart does that a bar graph does not, and the reason it is worth its own sheet.

Why this sheet works

The slices are drawn to scale, so the picture can be used as a check. If a slice looks like about a third and the answer is not about a third of the total, something has gone wrong in the arithmetic and it will be visible before the key is opened.

How this one works

One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.

How many more are walk than bus?

total:100 children
Bus25%
25% of 100=25
40% of 100=40
40−25=15
15 children
  1. A circle graph shows SHARES of a whole, never amounts. The slice tells you what fraction of everything it is; the caption tells you what everything comes to — 100 children. Neither number answers the question on its own.
  2. Read the share off the slice you have been asked about: Bus is 25% of the circle.
  3. Now turn the share into an amount. 25% is a quarter, and a quarter of 100 is 25.
  4. The question compares two slices, so the other one has to be worked out the same way: Walk is 40% of 100, which is 40.
  5. Only now is there a subtraction to do: 40 − 25 = 15. Subtracting the PERCENTAGES would have given a percentage, which is not what was asked for.
  6. So the answer is 15 children. Worth a glance back at the chart: does a slice that size look like about 15 out of 100? A pie chart is drawn to scale, so it can check your arithmetic.

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