What is the best way to represent the shape of a large population of measurements?

• A. A bar chart of categories
• B. A scatterplot of two categorical variables
• C. A pie chart
• D. A histogram

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the shape of a large population of measurements refers to the distribution of the data, showing how values are spread across different ranges.
2. Recognize that bar charts and pie charts are typically used for categorical data, which represent distinct groups rather than continuous measurements.
3. Know that scatterplots are used to show relationships between two variables, often numerical, but not primarily to represent the shape of a single variable's distribution.
4. Learn that a histogram is a graphical representation that groups continuous data into intervals (bins) and displays the frequency or count of data points within each bin, effectively showing the shape of the distribution.
5. Therefore, to represent the shape of a large population of measurements, use a histogram because it visually summarizes the distribution and highlights features like skewness, modality, and spread.