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LectureNote - Review of Bar Graphs

This document provides an overview of bar graphs and how to read and analyze them. It discusses the key components of a bar graph, including the title, axes, data groups, frequency scale, and bars. An example bar graph is analyzed to demonstrate how to determine the course with the highest enrollment, order courses by enrollment, compare enrollments between courses, and estimate specific enrollment numbers. The document emphasizes that bar graphs allow quick visualization and comparison of data trends.

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Dwiki Ali S
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89 views

LectureNote - Review of Bar Graphs

This document provides an overview of bar graphs and how to read and analyze them. It discusses the key components of a bar graph, including the title, axes, data groups, frequency scale, and bars. An example bar graph is analyzed to demonstrate how to determine the course with the highest enrollment, order courses by enrollment, compare enrollments between courses, and estimate specific enrollment numbers. The document emphasizes that bar graphs allow quick visualization and comparison of data trends.

Uploaded by

Dwiki Ali S
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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http://cstl.syr.edu/fipse/tabbar/revbar/revbar.

htm

Review of Bar Graphs


Objectives
After completing this unit you should be able to:

Identify the bar graph title.


Identify labels for the bar graph axes.
Identify information given by a designated bar
Make statements about data trends from a bar graph.

What is a Bar Graph?


A bar graph is a visual display used to compare the amounts or frequency of occurrence of different
characteristics of data. This type of display allows us to:

compare groups of data, and


to make generalizations about the data quickly.

This unit will introduce basic bar graphs, how to read bar
graphs. An example of a bar graph is given on the right.

Price of Corn versus Quantity


Demanded

When reading a bar graph there are several things we must


pay attention to: the graph title, two axes, including axes
labels and scale, and the bars. Since bar graphs are used to
graph frequencies or amounts of data in discrete groups,
we will need to determine which axis is the grouped data
axis, as well as what the specific groups are, and which is
the frequency axis.

The height of the bars are particularly important since they give us information about specific data.

Parts of a Bar Graph


Now let's look at the components of a bar graph individually. There is a lot of information in this section
so you may wish to jot down some short notes to yourself.

Graph Title--The graph title gives an overview of the


information being presented in the graph. The title is
given at the top of the graph.
Axes and their labels--Each graph has two axes. The
axes labels tell us what information is presented on each
axis. One axis represents data groups, the other represents
the amounts or frequency of data groups.
Grouped Data Axis--The grouped data axis is always at
the base of the bars. This axis displays the type of data
being graphed.

Frequency Data Axis--The frequency axis has a scale that is a measure of the frequency or
amounts of the different data groups.
Axes Scale-- Scale is the range of values being presented along the frequency axis.
Bars--The bars are rectangular blocks that can have their base at either vertical axis or horizontal
axis (as in this example). Each bar represents the data for one of the data groups.

Now let's look more closely at how the elements of a bar graph help us get a handle on the information
presented in a graph. While there are several ways to do this, here we will present one way to get an
overview of a graph using the graph above.

Graph Title--provides an overview of the type of information given in the bar graph.
For the bar graph given, the title indicates that we are looking at data on:
Price of Corn versus Quantity Demanded

Axes and their labels--The axes labels tell us what


information is presented on each axis.
One axis represents data groups is labeled Price per Bushel.
The other axis is labeled Quantity Demanded.
Bar--rectangular blocks that can have their base at either
the vertical axis or horizontal axis.
For this graph we can see that the base of the bars are on the
horizontal axis. This means that the grouped data axis is the
horizontal axis and the frequency axis is the vertical axis.

Vertical axis--This axis is the frequency axis and contains the quantity demanded given in units
of bushels.
Grouped Data Axis--Since the the grouped data axis is always at the base of the bars, the
grouped data axis is the horizontal axis. The axis label tells us that along the horizontal grouped
data axis we have the price per bushel, with each data group being a different dollar amount from
$1 to $5.
Two important pieces of information we must determine are the:
o type of data being counted, and
o how the data is grouped.
Frequency Data Axis--The scale is the range of frequency values shown on the graph. The span
of values represented is determined by the lowest and greatest values you wish to include on the
graph.
2

When looking at this axis, look to see where the range


begins and ends, as well as at the interval between tick
marks. For a further discussion on scale, read the
section on Scale.
The vertical axis is the quantity demanded given in
units of bushels.
In this case, the frequency scale goes from 0 to 80, and
uses an interval of units of 10. The frequency of our
data groups range over nearly the entire scale so we
are able to get a good picture of our data.

Analysis of the Bar Graph


Now that we understand all the pieces that go into a bar graph we are ready to discuss the analysis of a
bar graph. As you can see, being able to do some data analysis of bar graphs can be more complicated
then it initially looks. Keep in mind that parts of this process, such as doing an overview of the titles of
the table and axes, are done quickly. The parts that may take more practice are determining the type of
data groups being presented, whether the scale is appropriate, and making comparisons between groups
of data. For example, in the bar graph Price of Corn versus Quantity Demanded, what information is
being displayed in this bar graph?
Price of Corn versus Quantity Demanded

If we begin by looking at the axes we notice that the data groups are ordinal, going from a low of $1 to a
high of $5. We also may notice that there does not appear to be any trend in going from low to high
values of Price per Bushel. One thing we can see here is how difficult it can be to determine exact
amounts from a bar graph. For example, at a price per bushel of $3, it is hard to tell whether the quantity
demanded is 19, 20, or 21. While specific information of data groups may be difficult to determine, we
can make a quick comparison. Now let's take a look at an example of analyzing a bar graph.

Example
Given the graph at right, below, answer the following questions.
1. Which course has the most students
enrolled in it?
2. Order the courses by enrollment from
lowest to highest.
3. The enrollment in Econ is approximately
how many times bigger than the
enrollment in Chem?

Enrollment in Introductory Courses


at Union University

4. Approximately how many students were


enrolled in the course with the most
students?
5. Approximately how many more students
are in Econ than in Physics?

Answers to Example
1. Which course has the most students enrolled in it?
Econ has the most students enrolled.
2. Order the courses by enrollment from lowest to highest.
From lowest to highest: Physics, Chem, Psych, Poly Sci, Econ.
3. The enrollment in Econ is approximately how many times bigger than the enrollment in Chem?
The enrollment is approximately two times larger.
4. Approximately, how many students were enrolled in the course with the most students?
There are approximately 340 students enrolled in the course with the most students, which is
Econ.
5. Approximately how many more students are there in Econ than in Physics?
There are approximately 200 more students in Econ than in Physics.
(You can also view the Detailed Discussion of this example.)
When you are ready, try the practice for this unit. When you feel confident you understand the material
presented in this unit you should move onto the next unit.

Detailed Discussion of the Example


Before even answering the specific questions, we first take a look at the graph to get an idea of what
information it contains. We see that this is a graph of enrollment figures in five introductory courses at
Union University.
As we look more closely, we notice the data groups are not ordered, but are nominal level categories,
class name. The frequency data is given in numbers of students enrolled in a course. The scale does
begin at zero, and goes to 350. This allows us to make comparisons between bar heights.
Now let's look at the specific questions.
1. Which course has the most students enrolled in it?
Introductory Econ has the most students enrolled.

Enrollment in Introductory
Courses at
4

Union University
Since the height of each bar is a measure of the number
of students enrolled, we simply need to look for the
tallest bar.
2. Order the courses by enrollment from lowest to highest.
From lowest to highest: Physics, Chem, Psych, Poly Sci,
Econ.
As with the previous question, we can answer this
question by simply looking at the height of the bars, and
ordering them from shortest to tallest.
3. The enrollment in Econ is approximately how many times bigger than the enrollment in
Chem?
The first thing you should realize is that the answer to this question is the ratio of the
number of students enrolled in Econ to the number enrolled in Chem. This ratio is also the
ratio of the heights of the two bars:

This ratio could be determined by either reading the


number of students for each course off the graph, or just
using their relative heights. In this case it looks like the
Chem bar is twice as tall as the Econ bar:

So enrollment in Econ is 2 times larger than in Chem.


4. Approximately, how many students were enrolled in the course with the most students?

There are approximately 340 students enrolled in the


course with the most students, which is Econ.
Estimating numbers off a bar graph is only an
approximation. Given the scale of the graph we cannot
determine the exact number enrolled. If we look at how
tall the Econ bar is, we estimate that 340 students are
enrolled.
5. Approximately how many more students are in Econ than in Physics?
There are approximately 200 more students in Econ than in Physics.
For this question we want to have a number for the course enrollment for Econ and Physics,
then find their difference using subtraction. As in the previous problem, we use bar heights
to estimate enrollment.

Estimated Enrollment Econ = 340


Estimated Enrollment Physics = 140
The difference between the two:
340 - 140 = 200
So the difference in enrollment between the two courses
is approximately 200 students.

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