Excel

Excel

Charts

What is a chart?

A chart is a graphical representation of data from a worksheet. It summarizes the main data and helps to create a better understanding of the data than what you would get by just looking at the numbers. 

Click (or copy) the link below to watch the video!

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-chart-from-start-to-finish-0baf399e-dd61-4e18-8a73-b3fd5d5680c2?wt.mc_id=otc_excel

Advantages of Charts

1.     Visually Interesting – A table full of numbers may contain exactly the same information as a chart, but it is more difficult for an audience to easily absorb and comprehend. A chart provides a quick, direct way to present information, in a way that is visually dynamic and of interest to the audience.

2.     Direct Emphasis – Depending on the type of chart chosen, it can directly emphasize the key findings of the data for the audience. For example, if the data indicates how much of a certain product is sold in the store, a pie chart could make that readily apparent. 

Disadvantages of Charts

1.     Lack of Precision – A chart may not always be as precise as raw data. For example, a bar graph can quickly indicate that one category exceeds another, but exactly how much one exceeds the other will not be as apparent as it would be with the raw data.

2.     Simplicity – Charts can simplify information making some of its more complicated aspects less apparent. A chart emphasizes particular features of the data but can struggle to highlight various aspects of the data for which they were not designed.

Multiple Choice

A visual representation of worksheet data.

• Column
• Data
• Chart
• Legend

Types of Charts

• Column Chart

• Line Chart

• Pie Chart

• Bar Char

• Area Chart

Column Chart

Column Charts are useful to visually compare values across a few categories or for showing data changes over a period of time. They typically display the categories along the horizontal axis and the values along the vertical axis.

Line Chart

Line charts can show continuous data over time on an evenly scaled axis. Therefore, they are ideal for showing trends in data at equal intervals, such as days, months, quarters or years. Category data is distributed evenly along the horizontal axis and value data is distributed evenly along the vertical axis.

Pie Chart

Pie charts show the size of the items in one data series, proportional to the sum of the items. The data points in a pie chart are shown as a percentage of the whole pie.

Bar Chart

Bar charts illustrate the comparisons among individual items. It typically displays categories along the vertical axis and values along the horizontal axis.

Area Chart

Area charts can be used to plot change over time (e.g. years, months, and days) or categories and draw attention to the total value across a trend.

Multiple Choice

What type of chart is displayed in the picture?

• BAR

• LINE

• STOCK

• COMBO

Multiple Choice

Which chart type shows values as parts of a whole?

• Column

• Bar

• Area

• Pie