Several types of graphs are used for displaying information in mathematics including the bar graph; pie chart or circle graph; histogram; stem and leaf plot; dot plot; scatter plot; and time-series graphs. The type of graph chosen depends on whether the data is quantitative, qualitative or paired.
Bar graphs are used for displaying qualitative data. Each category in a set of qualitative data is represented by a bar, and the bars are arranged by order of frequency. Pie or circle graphs display data in the form of a pie. Each "slice" of the pie represents a different data group. A histogram is similar to a bar graph in that it uses bars, but it displays quantitative versus qualitative data.
Stem and leaf plots divide quantitative data by the highest data point and the remaining points of value. The stem is used for the highest data point, while the leaf is used for the other values. Dot plots are graphs that combine the concepts of histograms and stem and leaf plots. Scatter plots display paired data using horizontal and vertical axes. Trends in the data are illustrated through correlation and regression. Time-series graphs display data at different points in time, showing trends in data.
