DA0-002 Visualization and Reporting Practice Question
Which chart type is best for showing the distribution of a continuous variable, such as customer ages?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse a histogram with a bar chart, thinking both use bars for 'counts,' but fail to recognize that histograms require continuous numeric bins with no gaps, while bar charts use categorical labels with gaps.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Histogram
A histogram is the correct choice because it groups continuous data (like customer ages) into bins along a continuous x-axis, displaying the frequency distribution through bar heights. This directly shows the shape, spread, and central tendency of the variable, which is the core requirement for visualizing a continuous distribution.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Bar chart
Why it's wrong here
A bar chart plots counts per discrete category, so continuous ages must be pre-binned, hiding the underlying distribution shape. It is tempting because bar charts are the standard tool for comparing frequencies across named categories, which is the correct choice when the variable is already categorical rather than continuous.
- ✗
Pie chart
Why it's wrong here
A pie chart encodes each age as a proportional slice of a whole, which is meaningless for a continuous variable and cannot show shape, skew or modality. It is tempting because pie charts suit part-to-whole comparisons across a small number of discrete categories, such as market share by region.
- ✗
Box plot
Why it's wrong here
A box plot summarises median, quartiles and outliers but collapses the full distribution into five statistics, concealing modality and gaps in customer ages. It is tempting because box plots excel at comparing distributions across several groups side by side, not at displaying one variable's complete shape.
- ✓
Histogram
Why this is correct
A histogram bins a continuous variable into intervals and plots frequency per bin, revealing the shape, centre and spread of the distribution. Unlike bar charts for categorical data or box plots showing only summary statistics, it exposes modality and skew across customer ages.
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