Drawing a pictograph

Lakhanpal draws a pictograph of absent students with 1 symbol = 1 student. That works because the numbers are small (0 to 7). But his friends Jarina and Sangita collect the number of students present in Classes I to VIII: 30, 35, 20, 25, 30, 25, 30, 20. Drawing 35 symbols in one row would take far too much time and space!

Jarina chooses 1 symbol = 5 students. Then 30 students need 30 ÷ 5 = 6 symbols, and 35 need 7. Sangita chooses 1 symbol = 10 students. Now 30 is 3 symbols, but 25 and 35 are a problem until she decides that half a symbol shows 5. So 25 is 2½ symbols, and 35 is 3½.

To draw a pictograph: choose a key that suits the numbers, so every number is a whole number of symbols (or a whole and a half). To find how many symbols to draw, divide the number by the key. Magan Bhai sells kites in Jamnagar, and Rani buys 300 kites. With 1 symbol = 100 kites, Rani's row has 300 ÷ 100 = 3 symbols.

Some numbers do not fit a key. With a key of 5 or 10, a class of 33 or 27 cannot be shown with whole or half symbols. Pictographs are hard to draw when the numbers are not multiples of the key.