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8. Charts

8.7 Histogram and Box & Whisker

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Excel 2016 and later (statistical charts).

  • Histogram – distribution of one numeric measure (how many orders took 0–5, 5–10, 10–15 minutes…).
  • Box & Whisker – median, quartiles and outliers; compares distributions across groups.

Steps in Excel

  1. Select the Delivery Mins column › Insert › Charts › Insert Statistic Chart › Histogram.
  2. Ctrl + 1 on the horizontal axis › Bin width 5 (or Number of bins); optional Overflow bin 30 and Underflow bin.
  3. For box & whisker: select City and Delivery Mins columns › Insert Statistic Chart › Box and Whisker. Each city gets a box; dots beyond the whiskers are outliers.

Worked example. The histogram of 4,800 Pune orders shows most deliveries between 8 and 14 minutes, and a long tail above 20 minutes on rainy evenings. The box plot shows Nagpur's median slightly higher than Pune's.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

A histogram and a column chart look the same, so many students count manually, make a column chart and set the bins wrong. For a distribution, use the Histogram chart and keep the bin width meaningful (5 minutes). The dots in a box plot are outliers – send them for checking (5.15).

Worked example — histogram and box and whisker

Why

Meera Joshi in Pune and James O'Neill abroad both need a clear, repeatable way to use histogram and box and whisker on a Summit Schools sheet without breaking totals.

What

Histogram And Box And Whisker is the Excel idea this page teaches. We will walk one tiny example end to end.

How

  1. Open a blank sheet. In A1 type a short label for histogram and box and whisker.
  2. Enter a small made-up value for Meera Joshi using £ where money appears.
  3. Add a second value for James O'Neill using $ so you see mixed currencies stay numeric.
  4. Apply the method from this lesson step by step (menu or formula as shown above).
  5. Check the result still works inside SUM or a simple check cell.

Formula / action

Follow the formula or ribbon steps shown in this lesson (keep values numeric).
Result: The demo cell shows the expected result for Summit Schools's sample row.
Meaning: Once histogram and box and whisker is correct on one row, copy the same pattern down the column.

Practice tasks (10+)

Try these on a blank sheet. Open a hint only if you are stuck. No quiz — just practice.

1. Rebuild the smallest example of histogram and box and whisker on a blank sheet for Pearl Textiles.

Hint: Use only the steps on this page. Keep numbers numeric.

2. Change one input for Meera Joshi and confirm the result updates.

Hint: If the result is stuck, check absolute vs relative references.

3. Repeat the same steps with a £ or € value for Anna Kowalski.

Hint: Formatting must not break SUM.

4. Write the result meaning in one plain sentence next to the cell.

Hint: Imagine explaining it to a new joiners.

5. Add a second row and fill the method down.

Hint: Double-click the fill handle if the pattern is consistent.

6. Break the example on purpose, then fix it using this lesson.

Hint: Common break: text instead of a number.

7. Apply histogram and box and whisker to a 5-row made-up Pearl Textiles table.

Hint: Keep column headers clear.

8. Check your answer with a simple total or COUNT.

Hint: A wrong total usually means a format or key mismatch.

9. Swap ₹ and $ on one column and re-check totals.

Hint: Stored values stay the same; only the display changes.

10. List two mistakes beginners make with histogram and box and whisker.

Hint: Look back at the tip box on this page.

11. Teach the steps out loud in under one minute.

Hint: Why → What → How.

12. Save the sheet as PearlTextil_practice.xlsx.

Hint: Use a clear file name for class.

Loading practice tasks...

  1. Total nights (Easy): Add up Nights in D2:D11.
  2. Average rate (Easy): Average of the Rate per night ($) column, rounded to 2 decimals.
  3. Rows in Standard (Easy): How many rows have Category/group "Standard"? (column B)
  4. Largest nights (Easy): The largest value in D2:D11.
  5. Nights for Standard (Medium): Total of the Nights column where Room type is "Standard".
  6. Standard in Chicago (Medium): Total of the Nights column where Room type is "Standard" and City is "Chicago".
  7. Best in Standard (Medium): Largest E2:E11 value where B is "Standard".
  8. Value of row 2 (Medium): Multiply the first-row Nights by the first-row Rate per night ($).
  9. Look up Vikram Singh (Medium): The Nights for "Vikram Singh" (use a lookup on column A).
  10. Total value (Hard): Sum of D times E for all rows.
  11. Share of Standard (Hard): Share of D2:D11 that is "Standard", rounded to 3 decimals.
  12. Total "Nights" for Suite (Hard): Add up the "Nights" column for the rows where "Room type" is "Suite".
  13. Above average? (Hard): "Above" if E2 is above the average of E2:E11, else "Below".

See all practice tasks in the Task Hub →

Quick revision cards

Three standalone cards. Each one explains the idea with its own example. Scan the QR to open this lesson.

Revision card 1: What is Histogram And Box And Whisker?
Card 1: What is Histogram And Box And Whisker? · Download PNG
Revision card 2: Tiny example — Histogram And Box And Whisker
Card 2: Tiny example — Histogram And Box And Whisker · Download PNG
Revision card 3: Checklist — Histogram And Box And Whisker
Card 3: Checklist — Histogram And Box And Whisker · Download PNG