Which statement best describes a histogram?

Which statement best describes a histogram?

• A. A line graph showing the distribution of a variable.
• B. A graph of vertical bars representing the frequency distribution of a set of data.
• C. A table listing the frequencies of categories.
• D. A pie chart of relative frequencies.

Answer: (B)

Histograms present the distribution of data by grouping values into intervals (bins) and showing how many observations fall into each bin with vertical bars. The height of each bar reflects the frequency (or relative frequency) in that interval, giving a quick view of the data’s shape, spread, and any skew or gaps. This visualization is different from a line graph, which connects data points to show trends over an axis, from a table that simply lists numbers, and from a pie chart that displays parts of a whole as slices. So the vertical-bar frequency display is the characteristic feature of a histogram.

Histograms present the distribution of data by grouping values into intervals (bins) and showing how many observations fall into each bin with vertical bars. The height of each bar reflects the frequency (or relative frequency) in that interval, giving a quick view of the data’s shape, spread, and any skew or gaps. This visualization is different from a line graph, which connects data points to show trends over an axis, from a table that simply lists numbers, and from a pie chart that displays parts of a whole as slices. So the vertical-bar frequency display is the characteristic feature of a histogram.