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Data Visualisation & Analysis

Bar, line or pie?

One set of facts can be drawn three ways. The question decides which chart to use.

A bar chart. Four classes side by side. Compare them.
Step 1 of 3
  1. A bar chart. Four classes side by side. Compare them.
  2. A line graph. People at a fair, hour by hour. See the change.
  3. A pie chart. 12 students in three groups. See the shares.

The rule

A bar chart compares groups. A line graph shows change over time. A pie chart shows parts of a whole.

A pie chart needs parts that add up to one whole. Each slice is one share, one part of that whole. One pie chart shows one moment. So a pie chart cannot show a change by itself.

A bar chart can also compare a few weeks. A line graph joins the points and shows how the value moved.

Read each question. Pick its chart.

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This track

  1. 0 Start here
  2. 1 Tidy rows, or loose things
  3. 2 Four ways to collect data
  4. 3 Which file holds the data?
  5. 4 Clean the table before you chart
  6. 5 Bar, line or pie?
  7. 6 Read the chart before you trust it
  8. 7 Precise is not the same as accurate
  9. 8 The big picture
  10. 9 Track quiz

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