Table of Contents
Last modified on March 28th, 2023
A bar graph, also called the bar chart, is a way of representing data graphically in the form of bars. The height of the bars corresponds to the data they represent. Like all graphs, bar graphs are also presented on a coordinate plane having an x-axis and a y-axis.
The different parts of a bar graph are:
Let us consider an example. Sam went to the vegetable market and bought some vegetables. He bought 6 kg of potatoes, 8 kg of onions, 5 kg of tomatoes, and 3 kg of capsicum. He now wants to display the data as a bar graph.
To create the bar graph in an excel sheet, he needs to follow the following steps:
Following the steps if we draw the above data, the labeled bar graph will look like as given above.
The key properties of a bar graph are:
Bar graphs are used to represent the frequencies of categorical variables. They are mainly of two types: vertical and horizontal.
Let us assume that Rob has taken a survey of his classmates to find which kind of sports they prefer and noted the result in the form of a table.
Types of Sports | Golf | Tennis | Football | Rugby | Basketball |
Number of Students | 6 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 16 |
When we represent the above data in the form of a vertical bar graph, it shapes up like this:
This form of representation is most commonly used in statistics.
However, bar graphs can also be presented horizontally. If we represent the above data horizontally, it looks like as shown below:
Sometimes we need to present data representing a group. Such data are presented as either vertical or stacked bar graphs.
Also known as the clustered bar graph, it plots numeric values for levels of two categorical variables instead of one side-by-side. Here, the rectangular bars are grouped by position for levels of one categorical variable, with the same colors indicating the secondary category level within each group.
A grouped bar graph can be both vertical and horizontal.
Let us represent the given data in the form of a vertically grouped bar graph.
Number of Students Playing Sports | Golf | Tennis | Football | Rugby | Basketball |
Grade 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 16 |
Grade 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 5 |
This is an example of a double bar graph from which we can quickly identify the sport that is most popular of all and the least popular one. It is also used to show the relative sizes of the things under study.
Also known as the stacked or composite bar graph, it divides the whole graph into different parts. Each part of the bar represents a particular category with a different color. Thus, a bar represents the whole, and each segment is a part of the whole.
A stacked bar graph can be both vertical and horizontal.
Let us represent the data of a farm producing apples, oranges, bananas, and mangoes for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 in the form of a stacked bar graph.
Production in tonnes | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Apple | 10 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
Orange | 8 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
Banana | 2 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
Mango | 6 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
What is a Bar Graph Used For
Students widely use bar graphs to represent numeric data in mathematics and statistics. However, it is also used in various industries for business and finance. Some of its uses are:
The main difference is that a bar graph represents ungrouped data. In contrast, a histogram is used to represent grouped data. Again, the bars are not adjacent in a bar graph, whereas in a histogram, the bars are adjacent.
E.g.1. Draw a bar graph of the number of students newly admitted to a school in different grades.
Grades | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Number of Students | 24 | 35 | 16 | 32 | 8 |
Answer:
E.g.2. A survey of 50 students about their favorite season of the year is listed. Prepare a bar graph to show which season is most popular among them.
Seasons | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter | Rainy |
Number of Students | 14 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 |
Answer:
E.g.3. Draw the horizontal bar graph for the given data set between the number of people and their preferred mode of transport.
Mode of Transport | Bus | Car | Cab | Auto | Walking |
Number of People | 24 | 36 | 48 | 15 | 22 |
Answer:
E.g. 4. Represent the given data in a double-bar graph.
Distance travelled (in km) | Bus | Car | Cab | Auto | Walking |
Day 1 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 16 |
Day | 8 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 5 |
Answer:
E.g.5. The table shows the number of students newly admitted to St Paul’s and St Xavier’s schools in the following years. Represent your data in the form of a horizontal segmented bar graph.
Number of Students Admitted | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 |
St Paul’s | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 |
St Xavier’s | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
Answer:
Last modified on March 28th, 2023