In a bar graph, what does the height of a bar represent?

• A. The scale of the axes
• B. The value or quantity for that category
• C. The category name
• D. The color used

Answer: (B)

In a bar graph, the height of each bar shows the value or quantity for that category. The vertical axis provides the units and scale, so where the top of the bar lands on that axis tells you the amount being measured. The category name is just what the bar represents, and color is only used to distinguish data, not to indicate quantity. So, a taller bar means a larger quantity for that category, and a shorter bar means a smaller quantity.