The Mathematics of Money

610 Chapter 16 Business Statistics

Following the instructions, we fi rst enter the data into a spreadsheet. The result looks like this:

1

2

3

4

5

A B

A 37%

B 23%

C 18%

D 12%

Other 10%

Following the instruction Steps 2 to 10, entering a title in Step 9, we get:

Washer Fluid Market Share

A

B

C

D

Other

If we want, we can adjust the pie chart to, for example, have a more stylish look by selecting

a type other than the basic one in Step 4. We could improve this pie chart in particular by

connecting the categories more closely to their wedges by eliminating the key on the side

and instead making the letters appear next to their wedges. To do this, in Step 9 click on the

tab for Legend and unclick “show legend”; this gets rid of the key on the side. Then click on

the Data Labels tab and click on the box for Category Name. The result will look like this:

A

B

C

D

Other

Washer Fluid Market Share

You could also adjust this to show the percent or amount for each category as well by choices

from the Data Labels tab.

While pie charts can be a very useful display tool, they must be used with some caution.

If there are many different categories, a pie chart can easily become cluttered and hard to

read. Also, pie charts should not be used if the categories are not really pieces of some

overall total. Example 16.1.2 (in the next subsection) will provide an example of a situation

where a pie chart would not be appropriate.

Bar Charts

Like pie charts, bar charts (or bar graphs) are useful for comparing different categories, par-

ticularly when the categories are not thought of as being parts of some whole. With a bar chart,

each category is listed and a bar is placed next to it. The height of the bar is proportional to the

total number of items that fall into that category. Column charts are identical to bar charts,

except that columns are placed on top of the categories, rather than bars next to them.