What type of data would a bar chart be inappropriate for?

A bar chart is mainly designed to display and compare the frequencies or counts of different categories or groups. It is especially effective for nominal and ordinal data, as well as categorical data because these types of data are discrete and can be categorized into distinct groups.

When it comes to continuous numerical data, a bar chart becomes inappropriate because continuous data can take on an infinite number of values within a range. This type of data is better represented by histograms or line graphs, which can illustrate the distribution or trend of the data over a continuous spectrum. A bar chart would suggest distinct categories and intervals, which does not reflect the continuous nature of the data accurately. Therefore, continuous numerical data is not suited for representation through a bar chart due to its need for showing more nuanced variations and trends rather than discrete, categorical comparisons.