1. Module No. - 6
Excel Charts:
Representing the data in the form of chart is one of the most popular methods, which are
used for the purpose of data analysis. Excel provides various tools and capabilities. Using
these tools, you can transform the data into charts. For example, let us take following data
and analyze it. The data pertains to sales and expenditure figures of three companies, viz.
Company 1, Company 2, and Company 3.
A
1
2
3
4
B
C
D
Jan
Feb
Mar
Comp 1
10
50
80
Comp 2
20
40
80
Comp 3
40
60
100
A chart is the graphical representation of data.
The data values are represented in terms of bars, lines, columns, pie, slices etc.
Different bars, columns, lines etc. are colored with different color so that different data
series can be distinguished from one another.
Standard data values are also plotted horizontally and vertically so as to get the exact
idea of their magnitude.
Excel supports different types of charts to represent the data clearly and effectively.
Each type of chart has its own sub type or variant.
Which type of chart will be suited best to your data would depend upon what the data
pertains to.
For example, if you have to compare the sales figure of three companies, the bar chart
would suit best. But if you have to illustrate that out of the total market share 20% is
taken by company 1, 50% is taken by company 2 and 30% is taken by company 3 then
for such data representation, Pie chart will suit best. So before we go into the
operational aspects of drawing the chart, let us first get introduced to different types of
charts that can be generated in Excel.
Area Chart:
It shows relative importance of values over a period of time.
It emphasizes the amount of change that has taken place between the two intervals
(magnitude), rather than the values at that time or the rate of change. For example, the data
and corresponding area chart are illustrated below.
A
1
B
Jan
C
Feb
D
Mar

2. 2
3
4
Tek
Sun
Net
10
20
40
50
40
60
80
80
100
300
250
100
200
150
80
60
100
Net
Sun
Tek
40
50 40
20
0 10
80
50
Jan
Feb
Mar
Bar Chart:
This type of chart represents the values in the form of bars.
The length of the bar represents the magnitude of the value.
It shows individual figures at a specific time or illustrates comparison between
items.
In such type of charts, categories are plotted vertically, while the values are placed
horizontally, so the emphasis is more on comparison and less on time.
Sample Sales figure for three companies, for the month of January 2004 are
represented in following bar chart.
A
1
2
Jan-04
B
Net
200
C
Sun
600
D
Tek
900
Jan-00
Tel
Sun
Jan-00
Net
0
200
400
600
800 1000
2

3. Column Chart:
Column chart is similar to Bar chart except that the categories are placed horizontally
and the values are plotted vertically. Generally it is used to illustrate comparison between the
items over a period of time. Sales data of Tek Company for the last three months of the
financial year i.e. January, February and March is given below along with the column chart.
A
1
2
3
Tek
B
Jan
10
C
Feb
50
D
Mar
80
Tek
1500
1300
1100
900
700
500
300
100
-100
Tek
Jan
Feb
Mar
Whenever a comparison is to be made between different items, bar chart or column
chart is preferred.
Line Chart:
This Chart is similar to the normal x-y graph with which you may already been
familiar with. It shows the trend of the changes in the data over period of time at even
intervals. The Sales figure for the three companies for three months are given below and line
chart has been prepared as follows:
A
1
2
3
4
Tek
Sun
Net
B
Jan
2000
6000
10000
C
Feb
4000
12000
15000
D
Mar
8000
13000
5000
15000
10000
Tek
Sun
Net
3
5000
0
Jan
Feb
Mar

4. Pie Chart:
This chart shows the proportion of individual items in the complete whole. Complete
whole is represented in terms of a circle (which represents 100%) called pie. While
individual item's share is represented by an arc called slice. The size of any slice will depend
upon, what percentage the item (which represents the slice) occupies in the complete whole.
Sales figures of these companies are given below and the corresponding chart is also shown.
A
Tek
20000
1
2
3
B
Sun
30000
C
Net
60000
D
18%
Tek
Sun
Net
55%
27%
Doughnut Chart :
This chart is similar to Pie chart, but the difference is that the individual item's share
is not illustrated as a slice in the pie but as a segment in a ring. The advantage of this type of
chart is that it can accommodate multiple data series. For example, sales data for the three
companies for two months is given. Its corresponding doughnut chart is also shown in the
following diagram.
A
1
2
3
Jan
Feb
B
Tek
20000
30000
C
Sun
30000
40000
D
Net
60000
30000
4

5. 4
Tek
Sun
Net
XY Scatter Chart:
It is similar to the line charts but does not have the lines, joining the dots. It shows the
relationship or degree of relationship between the numeric values in several chart data series.
This type of chart is mainly used for scientific data. For example, you want to plot the
maximum temperature of three cities for the four day.
A
1
2
3
4
B
Sun
15
30
40
Srinagar
Delhi
Jaipur
C
Mon
20
32
42
D
Tue
17
35
45
E
Wed
12
20
35
50
40
Srinagar
30
Delhi
20
Jaipur
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
3-D Charts:
Excel supports different types of charts and charts that have three-dimensional looks
i.e. in x-y-z plane. These charts are called 3-D charts. For example, the column chart prepared
using 3-D effects would be display as follows:
A
1
B
C
D
Jan
Feb
Mar
5

6. 2
Tek
500
700
1500
3
Tek
1500
1000
Tek
500
0
Jan
Tek
Feb
Mar
The various types of 3-D charts can be plotted in Excel and some of them are 3-D Area Chart, 3-D - Bar Chart, 3-D - Column Chart, 3-D - Line Chart, 3-D - Pie Chart, etc.
Assignment No. – 7
Q.1.
What is chart?
Q.2.
How many types of charts available in MS Excel?
Q.3.
Write short notes on the following charts:
a). Bar Chart
b). Line Chart
c). Pie Chart
d). Doughnut chart
6