How to Use the Graph Drawing Tools

This item type lets you draw line segments, points, and more on a graph. These instructions will help you understand how to use the drawing tools.

These instructions tell you how to use all the different types of tools, but you may not see all of them in your question.

Keep reading to learn how to draw your answer on the graph.

Drawing Tools Menu

On the left-hand side of the drawing box, you have buttons for the different tools you can use to draw on the graph.

Let's see how to use each of the tools in the list.

Point

Use the Point button to draw a solid circle on your graph.

1. Click the Point button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on the Graph to place a Point."
2. Decide where you want to place your point, and click on that spot. You can repeat this step as many times as needed to answer the question.

Open Point

Use the Open Point button to draw the outline of a circle on your graph.

1. Follow the instructions from the Point section above to draw a closed circle in the same place that you want the open point. You have to draw open points on top of other things, so you can start with drawing a Point.
2. Click the Open Point button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on an existing drawing to add an Open Point."
3. Click on the closed Point to change it to an Open Point. You can repeat steps 1–3 as many times as needed to answer the question.

Note: You can also draw an Open Point on a line segment or ray by following similar steps.

Mark Feature

Use the Mark Feature button to draw a solid blue diamond on your graph.

1. Click the Mark Feature button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on the Graph to place a Mark Feature."
2. Decide where you want to place your mark feature, and click on that spot. You can repeat this step as many times as needed to answer the question.

Note: You can place a Mark Feature on any clickable spot on the graph. It can be placed on top of other drawing tools, such as lines, points, segments, and in shaded regions.

Line Segment

Use the Line Segment button to draw a line segment with closed circles on both ends.

1. Click on the Line Segment button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on the Graph and drag the Line Segment to the desired end point."
2. Decide where you want your line segment to start. Click and hold down at that spot.
3. Move your cursor along the graph until you reach the spot where you want the line segment to end. Release your click at that spot. You can repeat steps 2–3 as many times as needed to answer the question.

Ray

Use the Ray button to draw a ray with a closed circle on one end and an arrow on the other end.

1. Click on the Ray button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on the Graph and drag the Ray towards the desired direction."
2. Decide where you want the closed circle to be on the graph. Click and hold down at that spot.
3. Move your cursor along the graph in the direction that you want the arrow to point. Release your click. The ray automatically stretches to the end of the graph. You can repeat steps 2–3 as many times as needed to answer the question.

Line

Use the Line button to draw a line with arrows on both ends.

1. Click on the Line button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on the Graph and drag the Line in the desired direction."
2. Decide on a point where you would like the line to start. Click and hold down at that spot.
3. Move your cursor along the graph at the correct slope and in the direction that you want the other arrow to point. Release your click. The line automatically stretches to the ends of the graph area. You can repeat steps 2–3 as many times as needed to answer the question.

Dashed Line

Use the Dashed Line button to draw a line with dashes on it and arrows on both ends.

1. Click on the Dashed Line button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on the Graph and drag the Dashed Line in the desired direction."
2. Decide on a point where you would like the dashed line to start. Click and hold down at that spot.
3. Move your cursor along the graph at the correct slope and in the direction that you want the other arrow to point. Release your click. The dashed line automatically stretches to the ends of the graph area. You can repeat steps 2–3 as many times as needed to answer the question.

Shaded Region

Use the Shaded Region button to fill in a section of the graph with color shading.

1. Follow the instructions from the Line or Dashed Line section above to draw one of these figures on the graph. You have to have either a line or dashed line in place before you can draw a shaded region.
2. Click the Shaded Region button in the menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on an existing line or dashed line and drag the Shaded Region to the desired region on the graph."
3. Click on the line, hold down, and move your cursor toward the direction you want to shade. Release your click. The shading will automatically fill to the edges of the graph. You can repeat steps 2-3 as many times as needed to answer the question.

Note: You can only shade on one side of a line or dashed line, but you can have multiple shaded regions overlap if you have multiple lines. After you've drawn one shaded region, you can draw a different shaded region on top of the previous shaded region, and it will appear darker where the regions overlap.

Making Changes to Your Drawing

If you are not happy with your drawing, you can delete a part of it, undo your last drawing, or reset your drawing to start over. The buttons that let you do these tasks are in the top right corner of the drawing area.

Delete

The delete button can erase any part of your drawing. You have to pick which part of your drawing that you want to delete.

1. Click on the Select button in the left-hand menu, and read the sentence that appears below it. It says, "Click on an existing drawing to Delete."
2. Click on the Point, Open Point, Mark Feature, Line Segment, Ray, Line, Dashed Line, or Shaded Region that you want to delete. It will have a blue outline with squares once it is selected.
3. Click the Delete button. The part you selected in step 2 will disappear. You can repeat steps 2–3 as many times as needed.

Undo

The Undo button will delete the last thing that you drew. If you keep clicking the Undo button, it will keep deleting items in the reverse order that you drew them until there is nothing left to delete.

Reset

The Reset button will delete all the drawings and allow you to start again with a blank graph. Use this button only if you want to start over from scratch. If you accidentally reset your drawing, you can select the Undo button to get your entire drawing back.