Explain two differences between a bar chart and a histogram

Explain two differences between a bar chart and a histogram.

Statistics for Business & Economics, Revised, 12e

Solution

A bar chart is made up of columns plotted on a graph. Here is how to read a bar chart.

Histograms

Like a bar chart, a histogram is made up of columns plotted on a graph. Usually, there is no space between adjacent columns. Here is how to read a histogram.

The Difference Between Bar Charts and Histograms

Here is the main difference between bar charts and histograms. With bar charts, each column represents a group defined by a categorical variable; and with histograms, each column represents a group defined by a quantitative variable.

One implication of this distinction: it is always appropriate to talk about the skewness of a histogram; that is, the tendency of the observations to fall more on the low end or the high end of the X axis.

With bar charts, however, the X axis does not have a low end or a high end; because the labels on the X axis are categorical - not quantitative. As a result, it is less appropriate to comment on the skewness of a bar chart.