Bar Graphs
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Bar graph is the graphical representation of the set of data.
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It is rectangular bar of equal width and the height of the bar is proportional to the value of data they represent.
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It has two lines, one horizontal line and one vertical line.
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The horizontal line represents the data type or the data categories.
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The vertical line represents the data value.
The graph below shows a bar graph of the number of food items that were sold in the shop.
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All the bar must be equally spaced.
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The height of the bar represents the data value.
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The bar graphs must have a title, labels and scales.
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The data value must always start with 0.
Types of Bar graphs
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Horizontal bar graph
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Vertical bar graph
1) Horizontal Bar Graphs
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The data are arranged horizontally.
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In this graph the data type is in the vertical line and the data value is in the horizontal line.
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The bar runs from left to right.
2) Vertical Bar graphs
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The data are arranged vertically.
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In this graph the data type is in the horizontal line and the data value is in the vertical line.
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The bar runs from down to up.
Steps to draw Vertical Bar graphs
Interpret the Bar Graphs
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The title of the bar graph tells us what the data is about.
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The horizontal lines and the vertical lines represent the data type and the data value respectively.
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The horizontal bar graph below shows the graph of the favorite fruits of the group of students.
From the graph it can be visualized that:
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The bar representing the mango is the longest bar.
Therefore, most of the students like Mango.
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The representing the orange is the shortest bar. Therefore, the least liked fruit is Orange.
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The scale of the graph is: 1 unit = 5 students.
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10 students liked Apple.
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20 students liked Mango.
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5 students liked Orange.
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15 students like Banana.
Bar Graph for students Example:
Given below is the data of the number of students with their pets.
|
Pets |
Number of Students |
|
Parrot |
12 |
|
Dog |
24 |
|
Rabbit |
10 |
|
Cats |
25 |
Draw a vertical bar that represents the given information and answer the following question:
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Which pet is kept by the maximum number of students?
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Which pet is kept by least number of students?
Solution:
The vertical bar graph is:
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The graph shows that the maximum number of students liked cats.
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The graph shows that the minimum students liked rabbits.
For better understanding here’s an activity :
Here's an example of a Bar Graph for students:
Favorite Candy of Students in Grade 4
The bar graph below shows the number of students who chose their favorite Candy out of four options: Green apple,Caramel ,Butterscotch,Banana.
X-axis (horizontal): Represents the different candy flavors – Green Apple, Caramel, Butterscotch, and Banana.
Y-axis (vertical): Indicates the number of students, with a range from 0 to 14.
Bar Graph explained:
Number of Students
Data Shown:
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Green apple: 4 Students chose
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Caramel: 10 students chose
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Butterscotch: 7 students chose
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Banana: 8 students chose
Questions to solve:
Here are five questions based on the bar chart example:
1. Which candy flavor is the most popular among the students?
2. How many students prefer Butterscotch as their favorite candy flavor?
3. What is the difference in the number of students who prefer Caramel compared to Green Apple?
4. Which candy flavor has fewer student preferences than Banana but more than Green Apple?
5. What is the total number of students who chose either Caramel or Banana as their favorite flavor?
Explanation for Students:
A bar graph is a visual way to display data. The length of each bar represents the number of items in that category. In this example, the graph shows how many students chose each candy as their favorite.
This type of graph helps students understand how to compare different categories and analyze data effectively.
Quiz
Here's a fun, interactive quiz game for kids based on the bar graph:
Candy Flavor Quiz Game
Game Rules:
- Each question has a time limit of 10 seconds.
- Each correct answer earns 1 point.
- See how many points you can score!
Questions:
1. Quick Pick! How many students chose Caramel as their favorite?
- Type your answer within 10 seconds!
2. True or False Round: More students like Banana than Green Apple.
- Type “True” or “False.”
3. Speed Challenge: Name the candy flavor that has 7 students choosing it.
- Answer within 10 seconds!
4. Mystery Question: If 3 more students chose Green Apple, how many would that be in total?
- Type the new total number of students.
5. Guess & Win: Which flavor would need 5 more students to have the same number as Caramel?
- Think fast and type your answer!
Bonus Round (Double Points!):
6. Complete the Puzzle: How many students in total chose all four candy flavors combined?
- You have 15 seconds to calculate and answer.
Scoring:
- 0-2 points: Sweet Beginner
- 3-4 points: Candy Lover
- 5-6 points: Candy Champion
Kids can play this game individually or in teams to make it more engaging and competitive!
Real-life examples of Bar Graph for students:
1. Favorite Snacks Survey
A bar graph can show the results of a class survey where students were asked about their favorite snacks, such as chips, fruit, cookies, and popcorn. Each bar would represent the number of students who chose each snack.
2. Weather Data
A bar chart can represent the average temperature over different days of the week. Each bar would show the temperature for each day, helping students understand weather trends.
3. Weekly Allowance Comparison
A bar graph could display how much weekly allowance different students receive. For example, each bar could represent a student’s name and the amount they receive.
4. Sports Scores
A bar graph can show the scores of various sports teams in a tournament. Each bar would represent a team and the total points they scored.
5. Library Book Checkouts
A bar graph can show how many books were checked out from a school library over different months of the year. Each bar would represent a month and the number of books checked out.
FAQs:
What is the purpose of a bar graph?
The purpose of a bar graph is to convey relational information quickly in a visual manner. The bars display the value for a particular category of data. The vertical axis on the left or right side of the bar graph is called the y-axis.
What are simple bar graphs suitable for?
Simple bar graphs are a graphical representation of a data set based on one variable. It is widely used to compare various items/observations/categories based on a particular parameter. Bar graphs make it easier to compare things as you can analyze and interpret the data just by a glance.
What does every bar graph need?
Bar graphs have an x-axis and a y-axis. In most bar graphs, like the one above, the x-axis runs horizontally (flat). Sometimes bar graphs are made so that the bars are sidewise like in the graph below. Then the x-axis has numbers representing different time periods or names of things being compared.
What are bar graphs used for in real life?
They are used to show the relationship between two or more sets of data. They are mostly used in business and finance, but they can also be found in other contexts. Bar charts are used in many real-life situations. For example, a bar graph can be used to show the distribution of different types of food in a restaurant
Practice Worksheets :
Click the links below for practice worksheets --
Easy Level Worksheets
Intermediate Level Worksheets
Advance Level Worksheets