Briefly describe a CVP chart, including its major components.

The vertical axis of a CVP chart plots total dollars of costs and sales. The horizontal axis plots the volume of activity. Specifically, fixed cost is represented as a point on the vertical axis and the total cost line is plotted from the fixed cost point rising upward at a slope equal to the unit variable cost. Sales are plotted from zero at a slope equal to the unit sales price. Break-even is where the total cost line intersects the sales line.