HISTOGRAMS AND OGIVES

Many people find it easier to understand numerical information if it is presented in a

pictorial form, rather than as a table of figures. In this section, therefore, we look at
diagrammatic representations of frequency and cumulative frequency distributions.
HISTOGRAMS
A histogram is a graph of a frequency distribution. The x -axis is the variable being
measured and the y -axis is the corresponding frequency.
EXAMPLE 1

Plot a histogram to the data above

THE OGIVE
An ogive is a graph of a cumulative frequency distribution. The x -axis is the variable being
measured and the y -axis is the corresponding cumulative frequency, the x – and y -values
being plotted in exactly the same way as we discussed earlier. With a discrete variable,
intermediate x -values have no meaning in reality (recall the example on invoices) and so
the ogive would consist of a series of discrete points. It is usual therefore not to draw it.
With a continuous variable, the intermediate values do have a meaning, and so it makes
sense to join the plotted points.
From the example above, add a column of cumulative frequencies to the table
Output of A units No of days f Cf
30-under 35 1 1
35-under 40 3 4
40-under 45 4 8
45-under 50 6 14
50-under 55 4 18
55-under 60 4 22

The corresponding ogive is given below

PIE CHARTS
There are a number of other, more general, charts and graphs commonly used to represent
business data. In this section we look at one of the most basic: pie charts.
Pie charts are a very easily understood way of depicting the percentage or proportional
breakdown of a total into various categories. They are so called because the total is rep-
resented by a circle, with each component shown as a sector with area proportional to
percentage. Overall, the chart looks rather like a ‘ pie ’ with ‘ slices ’ in it. Sometimes two pie
charts are used to compare two totals, along with the manner in which they are broken
down. In such cases the areas of the pies, in other words the squares of their radii, are
proportional to the total frequencies.
Example

Solution

The resultant figure is given below

Exercise