In some questions, you might be shown general charts and they ask you to ‘work’ backwards, that is, what is the chart saying with minimal information.

Charts that look like this:

This is where knowing rules for general trends is important so that you’re able to answer these types of questions successfully in your exam.

We’ve gone through data and its presentation in graphs, so now, we’re going to look at some general rules about trends in data.

What trends do you need to know?

There are a number of concepts you need to know to answer ‘trend’ questions. A lot of this is about understand how ‘data’ looks like. Remember that it’s important that you orientate e.g., know the axes and units, as making mistakes in this area can cost you marks in the exam.

Watch the video now for a full discussion on the types of trends using the below image. We’ll discuss:

• Favourable vs unfavourable
• Increase, decrease, constant, spike, drop
• Inverse
• Cyclical
• Relationship – positively (increase leads to increase) or negatively (increase leads to decrease on other side and vice versa).
• How trends should be compared – like with like.

How to answer questions where there are trends?

Here is some guidance when answering

1. Know the requirement – find this by looking at the question.
2. Like all other graph type questions, remember to orientate – look at headings, axes and units.
3. Identify the type of trend based on image paying attention to compare like with like (i.e., the same series).
4. Eliminate and answer the question.

Let’s see it in action now with a worked example.

Example Question/s

Watch video for explanation of the following question/s:

This chart shows the value of beef exported by Australia and some countries in South America.

Comparing the two years shown, how many countries have a higher rate of growth for value of beef exported than Australia?

Source: Data.gov.au is licensed with CC BY 4.0.

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

This is a chart displaying farm irrigation water use for the Southern and Northern Murray Darling Basin (MDB) compared to the rest of Australia.

Which one of the following years did the Southern MDB use up the most water for farm irrigation compared to the other two regions?

Source: Data.gov.au is licensed with CC BY 4.0.

A. 2008-09
B. 2010-11
C. 2011-12
D. 2012-13

This chart shows the number of people employed in agriculture and the percentage of people employed in agriculture compared to the total labour force in Australia.

Which statement is incorrect?

Source: Data.gov.au is licensed with CC BY 4.0.

A. From 1974-75 to 2016-17, the people employed in agriculture decreased by approximately 37.5%.
B. Starting from 2000, the people employed in agriculture fell below 600,000.
C. From 1974-75 to 2016-17, the percentage of people employed in agriculture compared to the labour force dropped by over 5 percentage points.
D. From 2001 to 2002, the greatest drop in a year was recorded for the percentage employed in agriculture as a part of the labour force.

Key Rules to remember

• Know what the visual representation is for an: increase, decrease, constant, spike, drop, cyclical, positively or negatively correlated relationship.
• Compare like with like – use same series.
• Remember, favourable does not always mean an increase. A decrease can also be considered favourable depending on the context – so orientate first!

Practice time!

Now, it's your turn to practice.

Here’s a thought experiment #16.

Remember, there is no formal answer and this experiment is provided to help stimulate your creativity and critical thinking (a ‘thought experiment’ is provided at the end of every checkpoint except checkpoint 18).

Thought experiment 16:

Does perfection exist?

Take your time to work through this thought experiment as it is not assessed and provided to help develop your deeper thinking skills. Think about various components of the question. What questions will you ask yourself and how do you answer your questions?

Now, let’s turn to the checkpoint questions.

Click on the button below and start your practice questions. We recommend doing untimed mode first, and then, when you're ready, do timed mode.

Every question has two solutions videos after you complete the question. The first is a quick 60 second video that shows you how our expert answers the question quickly. The second video is a more in-depth 5-steps or less explainer video that shows you the steps to take to answer the question. It's really important that you review the second video because that's where you'll learn additional tips and tricks.

Once you're done with the practice questions, move on to the next checkpoint.

Now, let’s get started on your practice questions.

---