Which chart type displays the distribution of a single quantitative variable by grouping data into bins?

Which chart type displays the distribution of a single quantitative variable by grouping data into bins?

• A. Histogram
• B. Bar chart
• C. Line chart
• D. Scatter plot

Answer: (A)

Visualizing how a single quantitative variable is distributed when values are grouped into intervals is done with a histogram. In a histogram, the horizontal axis represents consecutive value ranges (bins), and the height of each bar reflects how many observations fall into that bin. This arrangement makes the overall shape of the data evident—where values cluster, how spread out they are, and whether the distribution is symmetric, skewed, or multimodal. The bin width can influence how much detail you see, but the essential idea is grouping continuous data into adjacent intervals and counting observations in each interval. Other charts don’t serve this purpose: a bar chart compares separate categories, a line chart tracks changes over time or another ordered sequence, and a scatter plot shows the relationship between two variables.

Visualizing how a single quantitative variable is distributed when values are grouped into intervals is done with a histogram. In a histogram, the horizontal axis represents consecutive value ranges (bins), and the height of each bar reflects how many observations fall into that bin. This arrangement makes the overall shape of the data evident—where values cluster, how spread out they are, and whether the distribution is symmetric, skewed, or multimodal. The bin width can influence how much detail you see, but the essential idea is grouping continuous data into adjacent intervals and counting observations in each interval. Other charts don’t serve this purpose: a bar chart compares separate categories, a line chart tracks changes over time or another ordered sequence, and a scatter plot shows the relationship between two variables.