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Everyday maths 2
Everyday maths 2

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3.1 Features of a bar chart

Regardless of which type of bar chart you are drawing, there are certain features that all charts should have. Look at the diagram below to learn what they are.

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Figure _unit4.3.2 Figure 4 Features of a bar chart
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Illustration of the bar chart in the Figure 3. Labels point to features of the chart. The text reads: Title – all bar charts need a title to explain what data is being shown. Key – bar charts with more than one bar for each section will need a key so it is clear what each bar refers to. Bars – whilst this seems like stating the obvious, your bar graph needs accurately drawn bars that are all the same width. Bar labels – each bar must be clearly labelled. Horizontal axis title – all bar charts need a title along the axis to describe what the information along the axis relates to. Numbered scale – the axis must be numbered with a sensible scale, the numbers could go up in 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s etc. depending on what is appropriate for the data. Vertical axis title – all bar charts need a title along this axis to describe what the information along this axis refers to.

Figure 4 Features of a bar chart

Activity _unit4.3.1 Activity 3: Drawing a bar chart

Draw a bar chart to represent the information shown in the table below.

Table _unit4.3.1 Table 6
Leisure centre users
January February March April
Male 175 154 120 165
Female 205 178 135 148

Answer

Your bar chart should look something like the example below. You may have chosen to use a different scale but your chart should have the following features:

  • a title

  • labels on both the horizontal and vertical axes

  • bars labelled with the month

  • accurately drawn bars of the same width

  • a numbered scale on the vertical axis

  • a key to show which bars are for males and which are for females.

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Figure _unit4.3.3 Figure 5 A bar chart showing numbers of leisure centre users
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A bar chart showing the information provided in Table 6.

Figure 5 A bar chart showing numbers of leisure centre users

Now that you understand the features of bar charts and are able to draw them, let’s look at how to interpret the information they show.