What is a Histogram?

In math, a histogram is a visual way to display frequency data using bars. A feature of
histograms is that they show the frequency of continuous data, such as the number of trees
at various heights from 3 feet to 8 feet. They are not used to show categorical data, such as
the population of dogs in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Another feature of histograms is that
the data can be grouped into ranges. For example, the height of the trees can be grouped into
3 to 4 feet, 5 to 6 feet, and 7 to 8 feet.

When to Use a Histogram

How do you know when to use a histogram? You can decide this by looking at your data. Ask
yourself, 'Is the data continuous, or can I group the data into ranges?'
What you are looking for is a group of data that is continuous. What this means is that the
data covers a range of values that does not jump. For example, the range of tree heights is 3
to 8 feet. The data does not jump from 4 to 6 feet. There is no gap. The countries of Norway,
Finland, and Sweden, though, do jump. There is no continuity between the countries. They
are separate entities. For histograms, you need continuous information and not just
categories that jump.
Histograms are great at showing results, such as the frequency of the number of trees at
various heights from 3 to 8 feet. So, if you have a set of continuous data, then you can use a
histogram to show the results visually.
So, let's say that I surveyed a hill by my house, and I counted the number of trees at various
heights. I found that at 3 feet, my hill only had 2 trees. At 4 feet, my hill had 4 trees. At 5 feet, I
only had 1 tree. At 6 feet, I had 7 trees. At 7 feet, it was 8 trees. Then at 8 feet, I had 2 trees.
The histogram for this information would have the x-axis showing the range of heights from 3
to 8 feet. Then, the y-axis would have the number of trees.

HISTOGRAM
A diagram consisting of rectangles whose area is proportional to the frequency of a
variable and whose width is equal to the class interval.