One way to pictorially display the numbers shown in Table
1 is with a
bar chart (see Figure
1 ).
|
TABLE 1
|
Yearly Expenses of a College Undergraduate
|
|
Item
|
Amount
|
|
Tuition fees
|
$5,000
|
|
Room and board
|
9,000
|
|
Books and lab
|
2,000
|
|
Clothes/cleaning
|
1,000
|
|
Transportation
|
2,000
|
|
Insurance and miscellaneous
|
1,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Figure 1
|
Vertical bar chart presentation of the expenditures of a college undergraduate for the past year.
|
|
|
Comparing the size of the bars, you can quickly see that room and board expenses are nearly double tuition fees, and tuition fees are more than double books and lab or transportation expenses.
A bar chart may also be placed on its side with the bars going horizontally, as shown in Figure
2 .
|
|
|
|
|
Figure 2
|
Horizontal bar chart presentation of the expenditures of a college undergraduate for the past year.
|
|
|
In each bar chart, vertical or horizontal, the amounts are ordered from highest to lowest or lowest to highest, making the chart clearer and more easily understood. Space is left between each of the bars in order to define the categories as being different.
The bottom line in Figure
1 and the left-hand side in Figure
2 indicate 0. Although typical, this presentation need not always be used. Finally, while the lengths of the bars may be different, their
thicknesses are the same.
Statistics: Overview
Statistics: Graphic Displays
