Histogram Characteristics

Types of Histograms

• Symmetric Histograms

  • Can be perfectly symmetric or approximately symmetric.
  • In practice, often deal with approximately symmetric histograms.
  • Example: Both sides of the middle are similar enough to be considered approximately symmetric.

• Skewed Histograms

  • Skewed to the Right

    • Long tail on the right side.
    • Example: Income distribution where most are in a cluster, but high-income outliers skew the average to the right.

  • Skewed to the Left

    • Long tail on the left side.
    • Example: Sleep duration distribution where most people sleep between 5-8 hours, but low extreme outliers skew the average to the left.

Modal Histograms

• Unimodal

  • Only one peak.
  • Often follows a normal distribution or bell curve.
  • This type is commonly used in data analysis.

• Bimodal

  • Two distinct peaks.
  • Requires clear evidence of two peaks to be classified as bimodal.

Application

• These terms help describe and analyze histograms effectively.
• They will also be used in understanding other plots, like stem-and-leaf plots.