Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of bar graphs?

• A. To display the relationship between two quantitative variables
• B. To show how a whole is divided into proportional parts
• C. To visually compare the frequencies or counts of different categories of data
• D. To illustrate the distribution of a continuous variable over intervals

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that bar graphs are used to represent categorical data, where each bar corresponds to a category and its height represents the frequency or count of that category.
2. Recognize that bar graphs are not typically used to display relationships between two quantitative variables; that role is better suited for scatter plots or line graphs.
3. Note that showing how a whole is divided into proportional parts is the primary purpose of pie charts, not bar graphs.
4. Understand that illustrating the distribution of a continuous variable over intervals is usually done with histograms, which look similar to bar graphs but represent continuous data.
5. Conclude that the primary purpose of bar graphs is to visually compare the frequencies or counts of different categories of data, making it easier to see differences among categories.