Blog

Guides on building histograms, choosing bins, and reading distribution shapes.

• How to Make a Histogram in Python with Matplotlib

  Build a histogram in Python with matplotlib, pandas or seaborn. Covers the bins default nobody should keep, the density=True trap, how to get percentages, and the NaN error that stops plt.hist.

• How to Make a Histogram in Google Sheets (3 Ways)

  Build a histogram in Google Sheets with the built-in chart, a COUNTIF frequency table, or the FREQUENCY array formula. Includes how to fix the bucket size Sheets hides.

• Histogram vs Bar Chart: What's the Difference?

  A histogram shows the distribution of one numeric variable with touching bars. A bar chart compares separate categories with gaps between bars. Here is how to tell them apart.

• Sturges, Scott, and Freedman-Diaconis: Which Bin Rule Should You Use?

  The three main rules for choosing histogram bins, what each formula assumes, and which one to trust when your data is skewed, has outliers, or is roughly normal.

• What Two Peaks in a Histogram Mean

  Two peaks in a histogram usually mean two groups got mixed into one dataset. Learn why it happens, why the mean lies, and how to fix it.

• How to Make a Histogram in Excel (and a Faster Way)

  Step-by-step: build a histogram in Excel with the built-in chart or the Analysis ToolPak, fix the bin controls Excel hides, and when a paste-in maker is quicker.

• Frequency, Relative Frequency, Cumulative Frequency, and Cumulative Relative Frequency

  The four columns of a frequency distribution table, worked through one ages example: frequency, relative frequency, cumulative frequency, and cumulative relative frequency, with the formula for each.

• Right-Skewed vs Left-Skewed Histograms

  The difference between right-skewed and left-skewed histograms: tail direction, peak location, the mean vs median rule, how to calculate skewness, and how to read skew in a box plot.

• How to Read a Histogram in 30 Seconds

  Read any histogram fast with a simple three step check: center, spread, then shape. Includes a quick shape table showing where the mean sits.

• How Many Bins Should a Histogram Have?

  Pick a histogram bin count with a worked example on 30 messy order counts, then compare Sturges, Freedman Diaconis, Scott, Rice, and square root.