Look at an unlabelled graph. Tell a story that fits it. A roller-coaster ride? A heart-rate during a run? A stock price during a crash?
Quick check
A graph rises slowly, shoots up steeply, holds flat at the top, then drops sharply back down. Which story fits best?
How to read a story off any curve
- Name the y-axis — 'how much of what?' (height, money, heart-rate, speed).
- Name the x-axis — almost always 'time'.
- Rising = the quantity is growing; falling = shrinking; flat = unchanged.
- Steep = changing fast; gentle = changing slowly. Now narrate left to right.
Your turn
Sketch a graph for: a hot cup of coffee left on a desk. What does the curve do, and why does it flatten?
If two graphs have the same shape, they can share a story even if the subjects are unrelated — a stock-market crash and a dropped ball can look identical until you label the axes.
Every curve is a story. The y-axis says 'how much', the x-axis says 'when'. Pick those, and the story almost writes itself.