What is a histogram?

A histogram is a graphical representation of the frequency distribution of data. It is a type of bar chart, but with a few important differences:

Continuous data: Histograms are used for continuous data, such as height, weight, or temperature. This means that the data can theoretically have any value within a certain range, unlike discrete data (e.g., number of students in a class) which can only take on certain values.
Bins: The data is divided into bins (or intervals) of equal width. The horizontal axis of the histogram shows the bins, and the vertical axis shows the frequency (or number of data points) in each bin.
Shape: The shape of the histogram can tell you a lot about the dataset. For example, a symmetrical histogram with a peak in the middle indicates a normal distribution.

How do you use a histogram?

Histograms are used in a variety of fields, including:

Statistics: Histograms are used to visualize and analyze the distribution of data. You can use them to:

Central tendency: The peak of the histogram shows the mode (most frequent value) of the dataset.
Variability: The width of the histogram shows the spread of the data.
Symmetry: The shape of the histogram can tell you whether the data is symmetrical or skewed.

Photography: In photography, histograms are used to assess the exposure of a photo.

Too dark: If the histogram is shifted too far to the left, the photo is too dark.
Too light: If the histogram is shifted too far to the right, the photo is too light.
Ideal: A well-exposed photo has a histogram with a peak in the middle.

Other fields: Histograms are also used in other fields, such as: