What chart type would you use to show the distribution of a set of data?

A histogram is the standard chart type used to represent the frequency distribution of a set of continuous or discrete numerical data. It works by dividing the entire range of values into a series of intervals—or "bins"—and then counting how many values fall into each interval. The resulting chart displays these counts as adjacent columns, providing a clear visual representation of the data's underlying distribution, such as its central tendency, spread, and skewness. This is its primary and specific function in statistical analysis.

A. Scatter chart: This chart is used to display the relationship and correlation between two numeric variables, not the frequency distribution of a single dataset.

B. Bubble chart: This is a variation of a scatter chart that adds a third variable represented by the size of the data points (bubbles), used for comparing three sets of values.

D. Radar chart: This chart compares the values of multiple quantitative variables for one or more subjects, often used to show performance or compare profiles.

1. Microsoft Corporation. (n.d.). Create a histogram in Excel. Microsoft Support. Retrieved from support.microsoft.com. In the introductory section

it states

"A histogram is a column chart that shows frequency data... Data is grouped into ranges... and displayed as a series of columns."

2. MIT Libraries. (n.d.). Data Visualization: Chart Types. MIT Libraries Data Management. Retrieved from libraries.mit.edu. Under the "Histogram" section

the guide explicitly states

"A histogram is used to show the distribution of a dataset. It is a graph that takes a set of continuous data and puts the data into 'bins' or 'buckets'."

3. Duke University Libraries. (n.d.). Chart and Graph Types. Data and Visualization Services. Retrieved from library.duke.edu. The guide specifies

"Histograms are used to show distributions of variables while bar charts are used to compare variables. Histograms plot quantitative data with ranges of the data grouped into bins or intervals while bar charts plot categorical data."