The Lesson
Bar charts can present the different
types of data.
-
Bar charts can present qualitative data (which is described in words).
The bar chart shown below shows the number of shapes:
-
Bar charts can present quantative data (which is described in numbers).
Quantitive data can be discrete or continuous:
-
Discrete data can only take certain values
The bar chart shown below shows the test scores (out of 10) of a class of students. The test scores can only be whole numbers, so they are discrete:
-
Continuous data can take any value (within a range).
The bar chart shown below shows the heights of a group of friends. Heights can take any value within a range, so they are continuous:
Note: There are no gaps between the bars because continous data has no gaps in it.
Also note: A histogram is a type of bar chart for continuous data.
What Is a Bar Chart?
A
bar chart (or bar graph) is a chart which uses bars to present
data.
The height of each bar shows how often (the frequency) each value appears in the data.
What Is Data?
Data is a set of facts (such as numbers, measurements or words) that have been collected or measured.
Data can be reported, visualized and analyzed to help us learn and make decisions.
