Primary 4 · Statistics

P4 tables and line graphs

In P4, your child reads tables and line graphs, and completes a table from given data. Most lost marks come from reading the wrong cell, often a total, when the answer sits where a row and a column meet.

Taught in: Term 1
Syllabus: 2 skills
Usual slip: Reads the total

Updated 13 October 2026

A table of red and blue stickers in two boxes, with totals

What your child learns in P4 tables and line graphs

Two skills, each with what it looks like on a worksheet.

Follows the latest (2026) MOE syllabus

See the syllabus wording

completing a table from given data
reading and interpreting data from tables/line graphs/pie charts

Complete a table

Your child fills in missing numbers from the data given. A Total is the sum of its row or column, so a missing cell is the total minus the cells beside it.

	Red	Blue	Total
Box A	16	9	25
Box B	12	8	20
Total	28	17	45

Box B, Blue: 20 − 12 = 8

Read tables and line graphs

In a two-way table, find the row, then the column, and read where they meet. On a line graph, first work out what one interval on the vertical scale stands for, then read across from each point.

	Series 1
Mon	30
Tue	50
Wed	40
Thu	60
Fri	20

Each interval stands for 10 books

Key facts and formulas

Term 1

Red Blue Total
Box A 28 6 34
Box B ? 9 26
Total 45 15 60
Complete a tableA total is the sum of its row or its column.the missing number → $45 - 28 =$ $17$
Series 1
Mon 20
Tue 30
Wed 40
Thu 70
Fri 60
Read a line graphRead each point against the scale. Where the line goes up most is the biggest change.Wed to Thu → $70 - 40 =$ $30$

	Red	Blue	Total
Box A	28	6	34
Box B	?	9	26
Total	45	15	60

	Series 1
Mon	20
Tue	30
Wed	40
Thu	70
Fri	60

Words to know

Row: A line of cells going across the table.
Column: A line of cells going down the table.
Total: The sum of a whole row or column. It is not a category of its own.
Scale: The numbers up the side of a line graph. Check what one interval stands for first.

The sentence that costs the mark

A table shows the fruit sold each day, with a Total column. How many apples were sold on Tuesday?

What the working usually does

readsthe total=20

Takes the Apples total, 20. It is a real number in the Apples row, just not Tuesday's number.

What the question asked

readsthe crossing=12

Finds where the Apples row meets the Tuesday column and reads that one cell: 12.

Every cell holds a real number, so a wrong cell still gives a believable answer. Only following both the row (apples) and the column (Tuesday) to where they meet lands the right one. A Total is the sum of the row, not a day.

The same P4 tables and line graphs question, worked properly

Lah works through it the way she does every question in StudyLah: one step at a time, marking the picture as she goes.

Class 4 Harmony has 38 pupils. The table below records how many of them take the school bus. Find the number of girls who take the school bus.

	Boys	Girls
Take the school bus	10	?
Do not take the school bus	?	7
Total	20	?

Step 1 of 4▌

The class has 38 pupils and 20 of them are boys, so there are 38 − 20 = 18 girls.
18 is the Girls total. In a two-way table, the answer sits where the Girls column meets the row for taking the school bus.
7 of the 18 girls do not take the bus, so 18 − 7 = 11 girls take it.
So 11 girls take the school bus.

Every question in StudyLah comes with a walkthrough like this one.

Try it free

Two quick P4 tables and line graphs questions

Try them together, then tap to check.

Question 1

The table shows how many boys and girls from Class 4C and Class 4D went on a learning journey. What is the total number of boys on the learning journey?

Class	Boys	Girls	Total
4C	18	14	32
4D	?	19	43

Show answer

Answer42. The 4D row has 43 pupils and 19 girls, so 43 − 19 = 24 boys. Then 18 + 24 = 42.

Question 2

The line graph shows the number of badges a shop sold over 4 weeks. By how many did the number of badges sold drop from Week 1 to Week 3?

	Series 1
Week 1	56
Week 2	24
Week 3	12
Week 4	40

Show answer

Answer44. Week 1 is 56 and Week 3 is 12, so the drop is 56 − 12 = 44.

Helping at home

How to tell it has clicked

Give them a two-way table and ask for one value, such as apples on Tuesday. Watch the finger: does it follow the row and the column to where they meet, or jump to the nearest number?

Ask what the Total column means. If they know it is the sum of the row, not a day, they will not mix it up with an answer.

Try this tonight

Use a bus or MRT timetable: "which train leaves Bishan at 9 a.m.?" needs the Bishan row and the 9 a.m. column, read where they meet.

Any grid works, such as a class timetable. Point at a cell and ask "which row and which column is this?" Naming both is the habit that stops the misread.

Before and after P4 tables and line graphs

Builds on
Primary 3 Bar Graphs
Reads bar graphs with any scale
You are here
Primary 4 Tables and Line Graphs
Reads the right cell and the right point

More in Primary 4

Struggling with the working rather than the topic itself? How to help your child with problem sums

See how your child is doing on this topic

StudyLah marks each step separately, so you can see whether it was the setup or the arithmetic that cost the mark.

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