Accountancy Part CGraphs and Charts for Business Data

What kind of data is best displayed with a bar chart?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Absolute value of data

A bar chart shows each value as a bar whose length is the size of that value. It is meant for comparing absolute values, such as the sales of different products or the production of different years, at separate points.

Why the other options are incorrect

Option (1) Continuous data — Incorrect. A trend that runs on continuously over time is shown better by a line graph; bars are drawn at discrete points.
Option (3) Proportions — Incorrect. The relative share of each part in a whole is shown by a pie chart.
Option (4) Random textual data — Incorrect. A chart needs numbers to draw; text cannot be turned into bar lengths.

NCERT (2026-27 edition):
Summary – “… Pie charts depict relative share of different elements. Bar charts are used to depict the comparison of absolute values of data (e.g. sales, production, etc.) at discrete points (e.g. time intervals, products, etc.).”