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2013 The Authors

Teaching Statistics 2013 Teaching Statistics Trust , , pp

Original Article

Developing Consistency in the Terinologyan! Display o" #ar $raphs an! %istogras

&atricia #' %uphrey, Sharon Taylor an!(athleen Cage )ittag

Departent o" )atheatical Sciences, $eorgia Southern *niversity, *SA an!

Departent o" )atheatics, *niversity o" Te+as at San Antonio, *SA

eail-phuphre.georgias outhern'e!u

Suary Stu!ents o"ten are con"use! a/out the !i""erences /eteen /ar graphs an!

histogras' The authors !iscuss soe reasons /ehin! this con"usion an! o""er

suggestions that help clari"y thining'

(eyor!s- Teaching#ar graph #ar chart %istogra'

T% &4O#5)

%o any ties have these 6uestions coe up

in your classroo- 7Shoul! 8 use a histogra or

a /ar graph9: 78s this a histogra or a /ar

graph9:

7Does it atter hether 8 connect the /ars or

not9: ;e have /een hearing these 6uestions an!

others along the sae lines

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2013 The Authors

Teaching Statistics 2013 Teaching Statistics Trust , , pp

representations

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#ar graphs an! histogras

the +a+is in a histogra' Ietanother conceptual

pro/le iscon"usion /eteen ho changes in /ar

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&atricia #' %uphreyspacing

Kig' 3' An

e+aple o" a

goo! histogra

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Type o" !ata

The ost coon !istinction/eteen /ar

graphs an! histograsisthat /ar graphs are "or

categori cal !ata an! histogras are "or

nuerical!ata' As ith any stateents

associate! ith the to types o" graphs,this is technically correct' %oever, there is

sel!o a !istinction/eteen noinal, or!inal,

interval an! ratio !ata

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another area o" concern e encountere! in our

6uest to n! out hy stu!ents ight /e having

pro/les ith /ar graphs an! histogras' The

ost coon la/elling pro/le stes "ro

using intervals such as 0M, B10 an! 111B

hen collecting !ata /y han! into "re6uency

charts "ro hich to ae the histogra the

en!points o" the intervals ere typically !ene!

/y the

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#in i!th an! the shape o" the histogra are

ine+trica/ly line!' Stu!ents ust realiHe the

iportance o" /in i!th in !eterining the shape

o" the histogra'

;%AT CA ; DO9

One o" the ain pro/les is the lac o" consis

tency in the terinology an! !isplays o" /ar

graphs an! histogras in current resources' The

/est ay to alleviate this pro/le is through

esta/lishe! stan!ar!s an! clear !enitions' The

$ui!elines "or Assessent an! 8nstruction in

Statistics !ucation report

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)cClain, (', Co//, &' an! $raveei@er, ('

=' Curriculu an! valuation Stan!ar!s

"or School )atheatics' 4eston,UA-Author'

ational Council o" Teachers o" )atheatics'