A bar graph is a visual presentation of data using rectangular bars. The bars can be vertical or horizontal, and their lengths are proportional to the data they represent. Bar graphs can compare items or show how something changes over time. Bar graphs are also known as bar charts or bar diagrams.

In this article, we will discuss what is bar graph, its properties and practice questions on it.

What is a Bar Graph?

A bar graph is used to visually represent data from several categories using rectangular bars. It is used to compare values from different categories. Each bar represents a category of value, and the size of the bar represents the value or frequency of the category it corresponds to. Bar graphs can be drawn horizontally or vertically or in the grouped form. A bar graph makes data look tidy, organised and easy to understand. It also makes it simple to compare different pieces of information.

Properties of Bar Graph

The properties of the bar graph are mentioned below:

• Every bar graph has a uniform width which is used to analyze data according to different points.
• It can be either horizontal or vertical.
• Every bar graph has two axes, one for the Graph and the other for the quantity of the data.
• The graph shows the comparison of data over a particular time.

Bar Graph Questions with Solutions

Q1. Study the following graph and answer the questions carefully:

The difference of number of students passed to those failed is minimum in which year?

Solution:

Studying the Bar Graph

Difference between the number of students passed to failed for

1991- 92 = 150-100 = 50

1992- 93 = 200-100 = 100

1993- 94 = 300-50 = 250

1994- 95 = 250-100 = 150

The difference is minimum for 1991-92

Q2. What is an approximate percentage of students failed during 5 years?

Solution:

In the year, 1991-92 Passed = 150, Failed = 100

1992-93 Passed = 200, Failed = 100

1993-94 Passed = 300, Failed = 50

1994-95 Passed = 250, Failed = 100

1995-96 Passed = 300, Failed = 100

Required % = Total number of passed students / Total number of failed students

= (100 + 100 + 50 + 100 + 100) / (250 + 300 + 350 + 350 + 400)

= 450 / 1650

= 27.27% ≅ 27%

Q3. What is an average number of students failed in the school in last 5 years?

Solution:

Total number of failed students = 100 + 100 + 50 + 100 + 100

= 450

Therefore,

Required Average = 450/5 = 90

Q4. Study the following graph and answer the questions carefully:

In which of the years, the numeric difference in voters turnout (in percentage) was nearly equal to 5%?

Solutions:

In the year, 1957-62

Required Fluctuation = 62.2 – 55 = 7.2%

In the year, 1984-89

Required Fluctuation = 64 – 62 = 2%

In the year, 1996-98

Required Fluctuation = 61.97 – 57.9 = 4.07%

In the year, 1971-77

Required Fluctuation = 60.5 – 55.3 = 5.2%,

Therefore,

Required Answer = 1971-77

Q5. Average voter turnout (in percentage) between 1952 to 1998 was approximately?

Solutions:

Average voter turnout between 1952-1998 is,

= (61.2 + 62.2 + 55 + 61.3 + 55.3 + 60.5 + 56.9 + 64 + 62 + 61 + 57.9 + 61.97) / 12

= 59.93% ≈ 60%

Q6. In which year was the growth in the average voter turnout (in percentage) to be the second highest in comparison to the previous elections?

Solution:

For the year 1967, growth from 55 to 61.3 is 6.3%

For the year 1984, growth from 56.9 to 64 is 7.1%

For the year 1998, growth from 57.9 to 61.97 is 4.07%

For the year 1977, growth from 55.3 to 60.5 is 5.2%

Therefore,

For 1967 the average voter turn out to be the second highest in comparison to the previous elections.

Q7. Answer the following questions studying the Bar Graph added below:

1. How many kids chose green as their favourite color?
2. Which color is the most preferred and which color is the least preferred?

Solutions:

1. From the given information, green color is chosen by approximately 20 kids.
2. The most preferred color is blue and the least preferred color is green.

Q8. The table below displays the number of bicycles produced at a factory from 1998 to 2001.

Year	No. Bicycles
1998	800
1999	500
2000	400
2001	1100

Create a bar graph to represent this information.

Solution:

Bar graph is:

Q9. Read the bar graph below shows number of students in different classes at a school.

Answer the following questions:

Find the overall number of students from class 6 to 8.

Solution:

Total number of students from class 6 to 8:

= (Students in class 6 + Students in class 7 + Students in class 8)

= (90 + 70 + 50)

= 210

Q10. Number of students in a class on average.

Solution:

Average Number of Students in a Class = (Total Number of Students) / (Number of Classes)

= (100 + 90+ 100+ 80 + 120 +90 + 70 + 50)/8

= 700/8 = 87.5

Practice Questions on Bar Graph

Read the following table and and the following questions:

A	B	C	D	E	F
300	200	225	400	270	350

Q1. Draw a bar graph using the given information from the above table.

Q2. Which of the following is greater: A+D or B+E ?

A poll of 32 students from one class was conducted to determine how they commute to school.

Mode of Transport	No. of Students
Cycle	10
Car	6
School Bus	16

Q3. Make a bar graph of the given information.

Q4. What form of transportation do the majority of students use?

Table below shows the weekly sales of pencil boxes in a stationery store.

Days	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
No. of boxes	60	50	10	15	30	20

Q5. Create the bar graph and its title.

Q6. What is the average number of pencil boxes sold ?

Q7. When did the most number of pencil boxes get sold?

Number of bed-sheets manufactured by a factory during five consecutive weeks is given below.

Week	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
No. of Bedsheets	850	600	300	700	900

Q8. Draw the bar graph using above information.

Number of absent students in class 8 was recorded in a particular week.

Days	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Absent students	50	120	110	90	80	130

Q9. How many students were absent on Monday and Friday?

Q10. On which day the maximum and minimum number of students were absent?

Q11. Draw the bar graph.

Also Check:

• Types of Bar Graph
• How to Make Bar Graph in Excel?
• How to Create Advanced Charts and Graphs in Excel?

FAQs on Bar Graph

What is the Purpose of Bar Graph?

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

Who Invented the Bar Graph?

William Playfair, a Scottish engineer and political economist, in the late 18th century invented the bar graphs and pie charts.

What are Advantages of a Bar Graph?

Advantages of bar graph are as follows:

• Show each data category in a frequency distribution.
• Summarize a large data set in visual form.
• Clarify trends better than do tables.

How Many Types of Bar Graph are there?

The bars in bar graphs can be divided into:

• Horizontal Bar Graph
• Vertical Bar Graph
• Grouped Bar Graph

What is Limitation of a Bar Graph?

The most important limitation is the lack of degree of details. Only major activities are shown in bar graph and sub-activities can not be separated out through it, and also a bar graph does not show the progress of work. These are the main limitation of bar graph.

How Many Axis does a Bar Graph have?

A bar graph mainly have two axis, the x-axis and the y-axis. The x-axis runs horizontally and the y-axis runs vertically.