What is the most appropriate graphic display for continuous data?

• A. Histogram
• B. Line graph
• C. Bar chart
• D. Pie chart

Answer: (A)

For continuous data, you want to see how values spread across the numeric range. A histogram does this by binning the data into consecutive intervals and showing how many observations fall into each bin. This reveals the distribution shape—where values cluster, whether the data are symmetric or skewed, and whether there are multiple peaks—as well as the overall spread and any outliers. A line graph is better for showing changes over time or order, not the distribution of a single continuous variable. A bar chart compares discrete categories, not a range of numeric values, and a pie chart shows proportions of categories rather than the distribution of a continuous measurement.