Question

water usage
the data table below shows yearly averages of how much water has been used by the united states. thermoelectric power plants use mostly surface water, and agriculture uses almost equal parts surface and groundwater.

graph creation
create a triple bar graph to help visualize the data from the table. whenever you create a graph, remember to talk: add a title, account for all the data, label the axes with appropriate units, and include a key.

Explanation:

1. Title: The graph needs a clear title that summarizes the data, such as "Average Daily Water Usage in the U.S. (by Decade, 1950-2010)".
2. Axes:

• The x-axis will be labeled "Decade" and marked with the years 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010.
• The y-axis will be labeled "Water Usage (billion gallons per day)" with a scale that covers the full range of values (from 0 to 460 to accommodate the highest value of 450).

1. Triple Bars: For each decade on the x-axis, draw three adjacent vertical bars, one for each category: "Thermoelectric Power Plants", "Agriculture", and "Total Surface Water". Each bar's height corresponds to the value from the data table.
2. Key: A legend (key) will be included to match each bar color/pattern to its respective water usage category.

Answer:

A properly formatted triple bar graph will have:

• Title: Average Daily Water Usage in the U.S. (by Decade, 1950-2010)
• X-axis: Labeled "Decade", with ticks for 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010
• Y-axis: Labeled "Water Usage (billion gallons per day)", with a scale from 0 to 460
• Triple Bars per Decade:
• 1950: 35 (Thermoelectric), 90 (Agriculture), 180 (Total Surface)
• 1960: 100 (Thermoelectric), 110 (Agriculture), 275 (Total Surface)
• 1970: 170 (Thermoelectric), 125 (Agriculture), 375 (Total Surface)
• 1980: 210 (Thermoelectric), 150 (Agriculture), 450 (Total Surface)
• 1990: 190 (Thermoelectric), 150 (Agriculture), 450 (Total Surface)
• 2000: 190 (Thermoelectric), 145 (Agriculture), 415 (Total Surface)
• 2010: 160 (Thermoelectric), 120 (Agriculture), 355 (Total Surface)
• Key: A legend identifying which bar corresponds to each of the three water usage categories