Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (2024)

Create bar graphs quickly and easily with SmartDraw's data-integration or start from a built-in template

What is a Bar Graph Used For?

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Bar Graph vs Line Graph

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When to Use a Bar Graph

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With SmartDraw, You Can Create More than 70 Types of Diagrams, Charts, and Visuals

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What is a Bar Graph Used For

A bar graph (also known as a bar chart or bar diagram) is a visual tool that uses bars to compare data among categories. A bar graph may run horizontally or vertically. The important thing to know is that the longer the bar, the greater its value.

Bar graphs consist of two axes. On a vertical bar graph, as shown above, the horizontal axis (or x-axis) shows the data categories. In this example, they are years. The vertical axis (or y-axis) is the scale. The colored bars are the data series.

Bar graphs have three key attributes:

  • A bar diagram makes it easy to compare sets of data between different groups at a glance.
  • The graph represents categories on one axis and a discrete value in the other. The goal is to show the relationship between the two axes.
  • Bar charts can also show big changes in data over time.
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Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (1)

Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (2)

Bar Graph vs Line Graph

Bar graphs display data in a way that is similar to line graphs. Line graphs are useful for displaying smaller changes in a trend over time. Bar graphs are better for comparing larger changes or differences in data among groups.

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When to Use a Bar Graph

Bar graphs are an effective way to compare items between different groups. This bar graph shows a comparison of numbers on a quarterly basis over a four-year period of time. Users of this chart can compare the data by quarter on a year-over-year trend, and also see how the annual sales are distributed throughout each year.

Bar graphs are an extremely effective visual to use in presentations and reports. They are popular because they allow the reader to recognize patterns or trends far more easily than looking at a table of numerical data.

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Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (3)

Types of Bar Graphs

When presenting data visually, there are several different styles of bar graphs to consider.

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Vertical Bar Graph

The most common type of bar graph is the vertical bar graph. It is very useful when presenting a series of data over time.

One disadvantage of vertical bar graphs is that they don't leave much room at the bottom of the chart if long labels are required.

Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (5)

Horizontal Bar Graph

Converting the vertical data to a horizontal bar chart solves this problem. There is plenty of room for the long label along the vertical axis, as shown below.

Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (6)

Stacked Bar Graph

The stacked bar graph is a visual that can convey a lot of information.

Make sure that you select the type of graph that best presents the data you want to emphasize.

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How to Create a Bar Graph

Step one is making sure you have data formatted the correct way for a bar graph.

In the Insert tab in SmartDraw, click on Graph and choose a type of Bar Graph.

Choose your data file to import and SmartDraw will automatically generate your bar graph.

Once imported, you can easily change the title, legend placement and even the quickly change the graph type using the Edit Graph options or just double-click on your imported chart.

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Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (7)Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (8)

More Bar Graph Information

Try SmartDraw's Bar Graph Software Free

Discover why SmartDraw is the best bar chart software today.

Bar Graph - Learn About Bar Charts and Bar Diagrams (2024)

FAQs

What is the bar graph all about answer? ›

A bar graph is a graph that displays all of the data in the form of rectangular bars with heights proportionate to the values they represent. The graph's bars can be depicted vertically or horizontally. The bars provide a visual representation of quantities in various categories. Also, check: Graphical Representations.

What have you learned about bar graph? ›

A bar graph (also known as a bar chart or bar diagram) is a visual tool that uses bars to compare data among categories. A bar graph may run horizontally or vertically. The important thing to know is that the longer the bar, the greater its value.

What is bar diagram in short answer? ›

Bar graphs are the pictorial representation of data (generally grouped), in the form of vertical or horizontal rectangular bars, where the length of bars are proportional to the measure of data. They are also known as bar charts.

What is the main purpose of a bar graph? ›

A bar chart is used when you want to show a distribution of data points or perform a comparison of metric values across different subgroups of your data. From a bar chart, we can see which groups are highest or most common, and how other groups compare against the others.

How to explain a bar chart? ›

A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The bars can be plotted vertically or horizontally.

What is the most important part of a bar graph? ›

The most important part of your graph is the information, or data, it contains. Bar graphs can present data in many ways and can present more than one group of data at a time. The first graph is a regular bar graph with one group of data.

What are the facts about bar graph? ›

A bar graph is the representation of numerical data by rectangles (or bars) of equal width and varying height. The gap between one bar and another should be uniform throughout. It can be either horizontal or vertical. The height or length of each bar relates directly to its value.

What is the learning objective for bar graph? ›

Learning Objectives

describe the features and benefits of bar graphs. identify and define types of bar graphs. explain uses of bar graphs. create bar graphs and apply data.

How to prepare a bar diagram? ›

Construction of a Bar Graph

Draw two perpendicular lines intersecting each other at a point O. The vertical line is the y-axis and the horizontal is the x-axis. Choose a suitable scale to determine the height of each bar. On the horizontal line, draw the bars at equal distance with corresponding heights.

What is a simple bar graph? ›

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.

How do you read a bar diagram? ›

Each bar represents a summary value for one discrete level, where longer bars indicate higher values. Types of summary values include counts, sums, means, and standard deviations. Bar charts are also known as bar graphs. Bar charts highlight differences between categories or other discrete data.

Why is bar graph easy to understand? ›

A bar graph can be of great use when you have to explain the meaning of complex data. It allows you to compare different sets of data among different groups easily. It instantly demonstrates this relationship using two axes, where the categories are on one axis and the various values are on the other.

How do you explain a bar graph to students? ›

What is a bar graph? A bar graph is a picture that is made up of bars with different height. Each bar represents a different category. The height of each bar can tell us how often something happens or show us the number of items we have for each group.

What to do bar graphs about? ›

Teacher Ideas & Activities: Bar Graphs
  • Graphing Fall Leaves.
  • The Price You Pay.
  • Gum Lovers Graph.
  • Sizing Up Bats.
  • Kwanzaa Candles.
  • Mazao Math.
  • Lucky Charm Graphing.
  • Insect Opinion Poll.

What does a bar graph summarize? ›

Use bar charts to compare categories when you have at least one categorical or discrete variable. Each bar represents a summary value for one discrete level, where longer bars indicate higher values. Types of summary values include counts, sums, means, and standard deviations. Bar charts are also known as bar graphs.

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