Cambridge Core Concept

Understanding Waffle Diagrams

Waffle diagrams (or grid diagrams) visually represent parts of a whole, percentages, and scaled ratios.

⏹ 100-Box Grid (Percentages)

A 10 × 10 waffle grid contains 100 equal squares. It directly models percentages and hundredths.

  • 1 Box = 1% = 1/100 = 0.01
  • 10 Boxes = 10% = 10/100 = 0.10
  • 100 Boxes = 100% = 1 Whole
⏸ 10-Box Grid (Scaled Ratios)

Featured in Cambridge Primary & Lower Secondary past papers. It consists of 10 equal sections.

  • 1 Section = 10% = 1/10 = 0.10
  • Scaling Rule: Each section represents Total Items/10.
  • Example: If Total = 20 items, 1 Box = 2 items.
Universal Grid Shading Formula
Boxes to Shade = (Category Count ÷ Total Count) × Grid Sections

To find how many boxes to fill in a 10-box diagram when given a total of 20 items: (Item Count ÷ 20) × 10 = Item Count ÷ 2.

Direct Comparison Visualizer

Side-by-Side: 100-Box vs 10-Box Grid

Observe how the exact same proportion (e.g. 40% Red, 60% Blue) scales between both grids.

100-Box Grid (40 Red, 60 Blue)

1 box = 1%

10-Box Grid (4 Red, 6 Blue)

1 box = 10% (10 grouped 100-grid boxes)

Interactive Playground

Custom Waffle Grid Painter

Select a category color, click grid cells to paint, and observe real-time calculations!

Live Breakdown Statistics
Category Boxes Fraction Percentage
Past Checkpoint Question

Yuri's Fruit Shop (10-Section Waffle Diagram)

Solve this real Cambridge Primary Checkpoint paper task interactively.

Question Prompt: Yuri records the numbers of each type of fruit sold in his shop in one week. Here is his data:

Type of Fruit Number Sold Key Symbol
Kiwi2K
Banana8B
Apple6A
Orange4O
Total Sold20--

Below is a waffle diagram divided into 10 sections. Select a fruit symbol button and click grid sections to shade Yuri's data!

Self-Assessment

Interactive Waffle Diagram Quiz

Test your understanding of ratios, scaling, and percentages.

Question 1 of 5
Exam Practice

Cambridge Exam Style Questions

Practice with official mark schemes and step-by-step solutions.

Question 1 (10-Section Grid Ratio)

[3 Marks]

A survey records the transportation choices of 50 students: Bus = 20, Walking = 15, Car = 10, Bike = 5. The data is displayed on a waffle diagram divided into 10 equal sections.

  1. (a) How many students are represented by 1 section of the grid? [1]
  2. (b) Calculate how many sections must be filled for Bus travelers. [1]
  3. (c) Write down the simplified ratio of Bus sections to Bike sections. [1]
Mark Scheme & Working:
(a) Total students = 50. Sections = 10. $50 \div 10 = \mathbf{5\text{ students per section}}$ [1 mark]
(b) Bus = 20 students. $20 \div 5 = \mathbf{4\text{ sections}}$ [1 mark]
(c) Bus = 4 sections, Bike = 1 section. Ratio = $\mathbf{4 : 1}$ [1 mark]

Question 2 (100-Section Percentage Grid)

[2 Marks]

In a $10 \times 10$ waffle diagram (100 boxes), 35 boxes are colored Oak trees, 45 boxes are Pine trees, and the remainder are Maple trees.

  1. (a) What percentage of the park's trees are Maple trees? [1]
  2. (b) Express the proportion of Pine trees as a simplified fraction. [1]
Mark Scheme & Working:
(a) Maple = $100 - (35 + 45) = 20\text{ boxes} = \mathbf{20\%}$ [1 mark]
(b) Pine = 45 boxes out of 100 = $\frac{45}{100} = \mathbf{\frac{9}{20}}$ [1 mark]