Displaying Data
Frequency Distributions and Their Graphs
A Frequency table is a table that shows classes or intervals of data with a count of
the number of entries in each class. The frequency of a class is the number of data
entries in the class.
Class Frequency, f
1–5 5
6–10 8
11–15 6
16–20 8
21–25 5
26–30 4
Constructing a Frequency Distribution from a Data Set
1. Decide on the number of classes to include in the frequency distribution.
(This will be given to you in your homework).
2. Find the Class Width.
a) Find the range of the data.
b) Divide the range by the number of classes.
c) Round UP to the next convenient number.
3. Find the Class Limits.
a) Use the minimum data entry as the lower limit of the first class.
b) Add the class width to the lower limit to find the lower limit of the next
class.
4. Make a tally mark for each data entry in the appropriate class.
5. Count the tally marks to find the total frequency “f” for each class.
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Example: The following data represents the ages of the 50 most powerful women
in the world of 2012. Construct a frequency distribution, using seven classes.
26, 31, 35, 37, 43, 43, 43, 44, 45,
47, 48, 48, 49, 50, 51, 51, 51, 51,
52, 54, 54, 54, 54, 55, 55, 55, 56,
57, 57, 57, 58, 58, 58, 58, 59, 59,
59, 62, 62, 63, 64, 65, 65, 65, 66,
66, 67, 67, 72, 86
Classes Frequencies Relative Freq. Cumulative Freq. Cumulative
Relative Freq.
Histograms
Example: The data set below contains information about the pulse rates of
students in a class. Use the data to answer questions a through e.
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a) Construct an expanded frequency distribution using six classes. Fill in the table
below.
Class Frequenc Relative Cumulative
y Frequency Frequency
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Various Shapes of Distributions –
Symmetric Distribution
Uniform Distribution
Skewed Left Distribution
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Skewed Right Distribution
Stem & Leaf Plots—
Example:
Use a stem-and-leaf plot to display the data. The data represent the scores of a
biology class on a midterm exam.
75 85 90 80 87 67 82 88
95 91 73 80 83 92 94 68
75 91 79 95 87 76 91 85
Stem Leaves Stems-- __________________________________
Leaves-- _________________________________
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Example: Make a stem and leaf plot for:
155 159 144 129 105 145 126 116 130 114 122 112 112 142 126
118 118 108 122 121 109 140 126 119 113 117 118 109 109 119
Dot Plot—
Example:
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Example:
Range of Data:
Line Graph
Time Series Chart: a data set that is composed of quantitative entries taken at
regular intervals over a period of time
The graph shows that the number of subscribers has been increasing since 1998.
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Pie Chart—
Example: Construct a pie chart that illustrates the data from the table on the right.
Classes Frequencies Relative Freq.
Example:
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Example:
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Example: Which of the following sets of data should not be displayed with a
pie chart? Assume that only the two given categories will be included.
A. The percentage of people that support a new speed limit law and the percentage
of people who oppose the new speed limit law.
B. The percentage of people that speak only one language and the percentage of
people that speak multiple languages.
C. The percentage of workers with college degrees and the percentage of workers
without college degrees.
D. The percentage of people that have a full-time job and the percentage of people
that have a part time job.
NOTE: If an individual could be in each of the categories or neither category, do
NOT use a pie chart. There can NOT be overlap.
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