9.2.2 Effects of Changing Dimensions Proportionally (continued) Example 4 Business Application The impact on a data presentation of a
disproportionate change in area with a change in length of a figure is examined in this example. The graph shows an increase in sales (the y -axis) over three years. From 2003 to 2005 the increase is from 19 million to 76 million, an increase of 4 times (19(4) = 76). But because the graph uses the device of a square tile to show the increase along the y -axis, it is also indirectly showing an increase in the area of the tiles. From 2003 to 2005, the areas of the tiles increase 16 times, since A 2003 = 19 2 = 361 and A 2005 = 76 2 = 5776, and 361(16) = 5776. This is a much greater factor of increase than the graph is supposed to represent, which makes it visually misleading, or at the very least unhelpful to the viewer.
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