How to Graph Race Results for Pinewood Derby

Draw a horizontal line on the graph paper and label it "Competitor Names." The length of the line should be a half inch for each competitor. For example, if you have twenty competitors in your troop, your line will be ten inches long.

Make tick marks every half inch on the horizontal axis and write a different competitor name in each space between the tick marks.

Draw a six-inch vertical line on the graph of the paper, starting at the far left end of the horizontal line and extending upward. Label this line "Time (seconds)."

Make tick marks every half inch on the vertical line and label the ticks in quarter second increments, starting at the bottom left and working up: 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3.

Use the colored pencils to color in the time for each competitor. Color in the entire half-inch portion of the competitor's place in the bar chart. For example, if competitor #1 took 0.5 seconds, color the space from the horizontal line up to the second tick mark above his name. Be sure to alternate colors for each competitor so that you can easily differentiate them.

Mark the winner on your Pinewood Derby graph with "1st place." The winner is the person with the shortest colored bar on the graph.

Mark the second and third place runners up in the same manner (they will have the second and third shortest bar graph).