Histograms in Statistics

What is a Histogram?

A histogram is a type of bar chart that represents the frequency distribution of a dataset. It is used to show the number of data points that fall within a range of values, known as "bins".

Histograms are useful for understanding the distribution and spread of data.

Key Features of Histograms

• Bars: Each bar represents the frequency of data within a specific range.
• Continuous Data: Histograms are used for continuous data, unlike bar charts which are used for categorical data.
• No Gaps: Bars in a histogram touch each other, indicating that the data is continuous.

How to Draw a Histogram

1. Collect Data: Gather the data you want to represent.
2. Determine Bins: Decide the range of values for each bin.
3. Count Frequencies: Count how many data points fall into each bin.
4. Draw Bars: Draw bars for each bin with heights corresponding to the frequencies.

Example

Consider the following data representing the ages of students in a class:

• 12, 13, 14, 14, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 17

To create a histogram:

• Bins: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
• Frequencies: 2, 4, 4