Question

The friend grows sunflower seeds. He counted up all of the seed in each sunflower in his garden. He recorded the data in the table below. When he graphs this data, should he use a Bar Graph or a Histogram? Why?

Sunflowers Number of Seeds
34 1800.5-1900.5
67 1900.5-2000.5
74 2000.5-2100.5
43 2100.5-2200.5

Answer 1

The student should use a histogram to graph the data on the number of seeds in each sunflower. Histograms are preferred for continuous data represented in intervals, which is the case with the provided seed count data.

Step-by-step explanation:

When choosing the type of graph to represent data involving number of seeds in sunflowers, it is important to consider whether the data is continuous or categorical. The data provided shows the numbers of seeds falling within specific intervals, which denotes a continuous distribution. When dealing with continuous data, particularly those displayed in intervals or ranges, a histogram is the appropriate choice because it will display the distribution of data across these intervals, which are also known as bins.

Histograms are best suited for showing the frequency distribution of numerical data and are especially effective when the data is grouped into ranges – as is the case here. A bar graph, on the other hand, is better suited for displaying categorical data where each category is distinct and there are no natural intervals between categories. In this scenario, since the data involves ranges of seed counts (1800.5-1900.5, 1900.5-2000.5, etc.), a histogram clearly visualizes the frequency of the measurements that fall within these intervals, allowing us to better understand the distribution of seed counts across various sunflowers.

Therefore, given the continuous nature of the data, the student should use a histogram to graph the number of seeds in each sunflower. The interval ranges suggest that the seed count data is continuous, and the histogram will effectively communicate how many sunflowers fall into each seed count interval.