Bar Charts
Grade 2What a bar chart actually shows
A bar chart uses rectangular bars to represent frequencies or amounts. Each bar stands for one category, the height (or length, if it's horizontal) tells you the value, and there are gaps between the bars to show the categories are separate — not continuous.
The common mistake is rushing past the scale. Always check what one small square on the vertical axis is worth before you read or draw anything.
Reading a bar chart
Drawing a bar chart — the checklist
When you draw one from scratch, every mark counts:
Axis labels — name both axes. Scale — start at 0 and space equally. Bar widths — make them equal and leave gaps between bars. Title — add one if the question asks.
Compound and dual bar charts
A dual bar chart places two bars side by side for the same category — useful for comparing two groups (e.g. boys vs girls). A compound (stacked) bar chart stacks the two values on top of each other in one bar.
Try this one
A pictogram shows the number of sandwiches sold at a cafe. The key states that each full symbol represents 8 sandwiches.
| Day | Symbols |
|---|---|
| Monday | 4 full symbols |
| Tuesday | 3 full symbols and 1 half symbol |
| Wednesday | 2 full symbols and 1 half symbol |
(a) Work out the total number of sandwiches sold across all three days. [3]
(b) The cafe owner says: "More than 80 sandwiches were sold in total over these three days." Is the owner correct? Show your working. [1]
Interpreting pictograms: convert each row to a number of sandwiches by multiplying full symbols by the key value and adding half the key value for each half symbol.
Ask yourself: 'What is half of 8, and have I accounted for every full and half symbol in each row before adding them all together?'
