Final answer:
It is true that bar charts can be used for both categorical data and time series data to compare quantitative categories or show changes over time.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bar charts are versatile graphical tools that can be used for different types of data representation. It is true that bar charts can be employed for both categorical data and time series data. When dealing with categorical data, bar charts are useful to compare size, quantity, rates, distances, or other quantitative categories across different groups, such as countries or companies. For time series data, bar charts can illustrate changes over a period, usually with the bars representing time intervals like years, months, or days on one axis and the numerical or percentage values on the other.
An example is the Pareto chart, a special type of bar chart where bars are ordered by category size, generally showing the most significant factors in a dataset. Whether to use a bar graph or alternative graphs like line graphs or pie charts depends on the specific data and the context in which the information is being presented or analyzed.