Stacked Bar Chart - GCSE Biology Definition

Reviewed by: Lára Marie McIvor

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A stacked bar chart is a type of graph used to show how different categories contribute to a total. Each bar represents a total value and is divided into coloured segments, with each segment representing one part of the data. The segments are stacked on top of each other, so the height of the whole bar shows the overall total. In biology, a stacked bar chart might be used to show how much energy an animal gets from different food sources—such as plants, meat, or grains—so you can compare both the total energy and the contribution of each type of food. This makes it easy to compare different groups and see how each part contributes to the whole.

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Lára Marie McIvor

Reviewer: Lára Marie McIvor

Expertise: Biology, Psychology & Sociology Subject Lead

Lára graduated from Oxford University in Biological Sciences and has now been a science tutor working in the UK for several years. Lára has a particular interest in the area of infectious disease and epidemiology, and enjoys creating original educational materials that develop confidence and facilitate learning.

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