Combination chart with a secondary axis

Name:

Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which situation needs a combination chart with a secondary axis?

A Plotting monthly sales ($) and average temperature (°C) together

B Plotting sales ($) for four different shops

2. A student wants sales as columns and temperature as a line. What is the best set-up?

A Columns for sales, a line for temperature on the secondary axis

B Columns for both series on the same primary axis

3. Which command do you use to turn one series into a line in an existing column chart?

A Remove Duplicates

B Change Series Chart Type

4. Why does a line of temperatures (10 to 35) look flat on the same axis as sales ($0 to $5000)?

A Spreadsheets cannot plot temperatures

B The axis scale is set by the bigger numbers, so the small values are squashed

5. A combo chart has two vertical axes. What should you do with their titles?

A Label both axes with their units, like Sales ($) and Temperature (°C)

B Label only the left axis because the right one is obvious

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Combo chart		AThe secondary axis has no title, so the reader cannot tell the unit of the line. Add a title such as 'Temperature (°C)'.
2Secondary axis		BAxis Titles > Primary Vertical + Secondary Vertical
3Show sales as columns and temperature as a line on the same chart		CA chart that mixes types, such as columns plus a line, so two data sets can be shown together
4Label both axes so the reader knows each unit, such as dollars on the left and degrees on the right		DThe temperature values are tiny next to the sales values, so the temperature line looks flat. Tick Secondary Axis for the temperature series.
5Sales ($0-$5000) and Temperature (10-40) both plotted on one primary axis		EA second vertical axis on the right side with its own scale, used for a series with different units
6Combo chart with a secondary axis but only one axis title: 'Sales ($)'		FChange Series Chart Type > Clustered Column + Line

Definitions

Combo chart

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Sales: type = column Temp: type = ____

series = "Temp" secondaryAxis = ____

Right-click > ________________________

Primary axis title: "Sales ($)" _________ axis title: "Temp (C)"

chart.type = _____ Sales: column, axis = primary Temp: line, axis = secondary

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A data = A1:C8

B Sales.type = "pie"

C Temp.type = "line"

D Temp.axis = "secondary"

Question 2

A chart.type = "column"

B Rain.type = "column"

C Temp.type = "line"

D Temp.axis = "secondary"

Question 3

A chart.type = "combo"

B Sales.type = "column"

C Temp.type = "line"

D Temp.axis = "primary"

Question 4

A Select A1:C8

B Right-click the chart title

C Pick Change Series Chart Type

D Set Temp to Line

E Tick Secondary Axis

Question 5

A Rain.type = "column"

B Temp.type = "line"

C Temp.axis = "secondary"

D primaryTitle = "Temp (C)"

E secondaryTitle = "Temp (C)"

Answer Key

Combination chart with a secondary axis

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Plotting monthly sales ($) and average temperature (°C) together

A — Columns for sales, a line for temperature on the secondary axis

B — Change Series Chart Type

B — The axis scale is set by the bigger numbers, so the small values are squashed

A — Label both axes with their units, like Sales ($) and Temperature (°C)

Section B: Match the Pairs

Combo chart → A chart that mixes types, such as columns plus a line, so two data sets can be shown together

Secondary axis → A second vertical axis on the right side with its own scale, used for a series with different units

Show sales as columns and temperature as a line on the same chart → Change Series Chart Type > Clustered Column + Line

Label both axes so the reader knows each unit, such as dollars on the left and degrees on the right → Axis Titles > Primary Vertical + Secondary Vertical

Sales ($0-$5000) and Temperature (10-40) both plotted on one primary axis → The temperature values are tiny next to the sales values, so the temperature line looks flat. Tick Secondary Axis for the temperature series.

Combo chart with a secondary axis but only one axis title: 'Sales ($)' → The secondary axis has no title, so the reader cannot tell the unit of the line. Add a title such as 'Temperature (°C)'.

Section C: Definitions

Combo chart — A chart that mixes types, like columns plus a line, and puts one series on a secondary axis so two data sets with different units, such as sales and temperature, can be read together.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Sales: type = column
Temp: type = line

series = "Temp"
secondaryAxis = true

Right-click > Change Series Chart Type

Primary axis title: "Sales ($)"
Secondary axis title: "Temp (C)"

chart.type = combo
Sales: column, axis = primary
Temp: line, axis = secondary

Section E: Spot the Error

B — A combo chart mixes columns plus a line. A pie chart cannot share axes with a line, so Sales should be "column".

A — The chart must be a "combo" chart so that one series can be a line and another a column. A plain column chart cannot mix chart types.

D — Sales (dollars) and temperature (degrees) have different units. Temp must go on the "secondary" axis, or its line would be squashed flat along the bottom.

B — Change Series Chart Type applies to one series, so you right-click the Temp series itself, not the chart title.

D — The primary (left) axis belongs to the Rain columns, so its title should be "Rainfall (mm)". Temp is on the secondary axis.