Maths A - Chapter 9

9syllabussyllabusrrefefererenceence
Strand:
Statistics and probability
Core topic:
Data collection and
presentation
In thisIn this chachapterpter
9A Types of data
9B Collecting data
9C Organising and displaying
data using column and
sector graphs
9D Graphical methods of
misrepresenting data
9E Histograms and frequency
polygons
9F Stem-and-leaf plots
9G Five-number summaries
and boxplots
Collecting and
entering data
MQ Maths A Yr 11 - 09 Page 325 Thursday, July 5, 2001 9:08 AM

326 M a t h s Q u e s t M a t h s A Ye a r 1 1 f o r Q u e e n s l a n d
Introduction
In Australia, we are fortunate to be able
to drink tap water. This is not the case in
many countries throughout the world
where the residents must consume bottled
water. If that were the case here, we
would be concerned with the price of
bottled water. Since we would require
ongoing supplies, it would be wise to
shop around for brands and sizes that suit
our particular needs.
In this chapter we investigate:
1. methods we could use to collect data
2. how we could prepare and organise the
data
3. ways in which we could display the
data
4. drawing conclusions from the data col-
lected.
1 Distinguish between the terms qualitative and quantitative.
2 Consider the following temperatures (in degrees Celsius).
1, 3, 8, 6.5, −2, 25, 0, −1, 12
a Arrange the data in ascending order.
b Give the smallest, the largest and the middle temperatures.
3 At Central High School there are 117 students in Year 8 and 62 students in Year 12. In
Years 9 and 10, there are 102 and 92 students respectively, while there are 77 students
in Year 11.
a Arrange this data set in a logical table format.
b Draw a pie/sector graph to display the data.
c Represent the data as a column/bar graph.
4 Express the following in the units indicated.
a 500 g for 98c (express in c/g).
b $1.10 for 1.25 L (in $/L).
c 1.25 kg for $9.50 (in c/g).
5 Which is the better buy:
a 375-mL can of drink for $1, or a 1-L bottle of drink for $2.50?
MQ Maths A Yr 11 - 09 Page 326 Wednesday, July 4, 2001 5:49 PM

C h a p t e r 9 C o l l e c t i n g a n d e n t e r i n g d a t a 327
Types of data
Before we collect any data, we need to understand the various types of data we could
gather. The diagram below distinguishes the types.
Categorical data are observations that ﬁt some qualitative category. Data of this
type do not involve numbers or measurements. If there is no order associated with
the categories formed by the data, then they are termed nominal data (for example,
answers to questions about a student’s hair colour or method of transport used to
travel to school). When the data categories are aligned to some qualitative scale,
they are termed ordinal data. A response to a question on a scale (for example,
strongly disagree to strongly agree) would constitute ordinal data (that is, some
order is implied).
Numerical data, on the other hand, involve quantitative amounts. Discrete data
are responses, observations or records that can take only certain, set values. Examples
of discrete data would include, for example, the number of children in a family and the
number of marks obtained in a test (even though you can be awarded half marks).
Continuous data may take any value within the range of the data. Here, we often ﬁnd
data arising as the result of taking measurements (for example, a person’s height, the
daily temperature).
Data
Categorical
(qualitative)
Numerical
(quantitative)
Nominal
Ordinal
Discrete
Continuous
State whether the following pieces of
data are categorical or numerical.
a The value of sales recorded at each
branch of a fast-food outlet
b The breeds of dog that appear at
a dog show
THINK WRITE
a The value of
sales at each
branch can be
measured.
a The value of sales
are numerical data.
b The breeds of
dog at a show
cannot be
measured.
b The breeds of dog
are categorical
data.
1WORKEDExample

Types of data
1 State whether the data collected in each of the following situations would be
categorical or numerical.
a The number of matches in each box is counted for a large sample of boxes.
b The sex of respondents to a questionnaire is recorded as either M or F.
c A fisheries inspector records the lengths of 40 cod.
d The occurrence of hot, warm, mild and cool weather for each day in January is
recorded.
e The actual temperature for each day in January is recorded.
f Cinema critics are asked to judge a film by awarding it a rating from one to five stars.
State whether each of the following records
of numerical data is discrete or continuous.
a The number of people in each car that
passes through a tollgate
b The mass of a baby at birth
THINK WRITE
a The number of people in the car
must be a whole number.
a
Give a written answer. The data are numerical and discrete.
b A baby’s mass can be measured to
various degrees of accuracy.
b
Give a written answer. The data are numerical and continuous.
1
2
1
2
2WORKEDExample
remember
1. Data can be classified as either:
(a) categorical — the data are in categories, or
(b) numerical — the data can be either measured or counted.
2. Numerical data can be either:
(a) discrete — the data can take only certain values, usually whole numbers, or
(b) continuous — the data can take any value depending on the degree of
accuracy.
remember
9A
WORKED
Example
1

2 State whether the numerical data gathered in each of the following situations are
discrete or continuous.
a The heights of 60 tomato plants at a plant nursery
b The number of jelly beans in each of 50 packets
c The time taken for each student in a class of six-year-olds to tie his or her shoelaces
d The petrol consumption rate of a large sample of cars
e The IQ (intelligence quotient) of each student in a class
3 For each of the following, state if the data are categorical or numerical. If numerical,
state if the data are discrete or continuous.
a The number of students in each class at your school
b The teams people support at a football match
c The brands of peanut butter sold at a supermarket
d The heights of people in your class
e The interest rate charged by each bank
f A person’s pulse rate
4 An opinion poll was conducted. A thousand people were given the statement
‘Euthanasia should be legalised’. Each person was offered ﬁve responses: strongly
agree, agree, unsure, disagree and strongly disagree. Describe the data type in this
example.
5 A teacher marks her students’ work with a grade A, B, C, D, or E. Describe the data
type used.
6 A teacher marks his students’ work using a mark out of 100. Describe the data type
used.
7
The number of people who are using a particular bus service are counted over a 2-week
period. The data formed by this survey would best be described as:
A categorical data
B numerical and discrete data
C numerical and continuous data
D quantitative data
8 The graph at right shows the number of days of each
weather type for the Gold Coast in January.
Describe the data in this example.
9 The graph at right shows a girl’s height each year
for 10 years.
Describe the data in this example.
WORKED
Example
2
mmultiple choiceultiple choice
0
Cool
W
arm
H
ot
M
ild
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
NumberofdaysinJanuary
Weather
5 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Age
Height(cm)
100
120
140
160
180
86

Collecting data
Data can be collected using a variety
of techniques. Three common methods
are:
1. observation
2. survey
3. experiment
Observation
Let us return to consider collecting data
on bottled water. We could obtain data
by visiting outlets selling water and by
observing the prices charged. Imagine
that on a visit to three stores, a variety of brands,
sizes and prices of bottled water were observed. The table below indicates the variation
and costs of 1.5-L bottle of water at the three stores. The prices shown are shelf prices
for one particular week.
Bottled water (1.5 L) Corner store Coles Woolworths
Natural spring water $1.88c
Mount Franklin
Australian spring water
$1.39 $1.35 $1.55
Frantelle
Spring water
$1.89c $1.17 $1.99c
Rain Farm
Pure Australian rainwater
$1.14 $1.09 $1.19
Peats Ridge Springs
Natural spring water
$1.99c $1.20
First Choice
Spring water
$1.09
Evian
$2.66 $2.67 $2.39
Brim-Brim
$2.22
Tourquay
$1.19
Savings
Still spring water
$1.90c
Coles
$1.29
Bells
Puriﬁed natural spring water
$1.19 $1.14
Schweppes
Cool Ridge still spring water
$1.70

Take note of:
1. the variety available at each venue
2. the variation in price between different brands (what could cause this?)
3. the brands that are common to the three stores
4. the variation in price for the same brand at the three venues.
Observations such as these would help you decide on a product suitable for your own
personal needs. However, the 1.5-litre bottle may not be appropriate for you. We shall
delve more deeply into this question with an investigation that also examines the
variety of sizes available.
Farmland
$1.89c
Summit
$1.19
Fraser Blue
Natural Australian spring water
$1.79
Aquaqueen
Australian spring water
$1.59
Cottonwood Valley
$1.39
Snowy Mountain
$1.03
Collecting data by observing
bottled water prices
In this activity, we attempt to determine the amount of bottled water that you or
your family needs.
1 Visit your local suppliers of bottled water (as many of them as possible). Make
a record of the brands, sizes and costs of all types available at each outlet.
2 Organise your data into a table format (slight modiﬁcations to the table shown
previously would be appropriate). These records would be entered as discrete
numerical data. Check to ensure you have not made any obvious recording
errors.
3 Compare the price of bulk buying with that of purchasing several smaller
bottles of equivalent capacity.
4 Now look for a solution to your water requirements. (Consider your needs for a
weekly supply.) Take into account the following points.
(a) Your bottled water supply must provide for all drinking and food
preparation needs.
(b) The water has a long shelf life, so bulk purchases may be more economical
(if you have storage room and funds available).
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

Surveys
Collecting data by survey is the form that is most frequently used. The survey is admin-
istered with the aid of a questionnaire. The degree of success of obtaining meaningful
and relevant data from a questionnaire depends largely on the care taken in designing
the questions. Methods used to collect data include:
1. personal interviews, where the interviewer usually asks prepared questions, then
records the respondents’ replies
2. telephone interviews, where the interview is conducted over the telephone
3. self-administered questionnaires, which are usually mailed to individuals who
complete the questionnaire, then return it in a pre-paid envelope or hold it for
collection.
Reporting your results
Write a formal report of this investigation, detailing:
1. Aim
2. Method of obtaining data
3. Table summarising data
4. Your own personal weekly needs
5. Purchases which would satisfy these needs — specify preferred brands, sizes
and the total cost. Explain your choice of brand and size.
More data collection by observation
It is possible to collect a variety of types of data by observation. The following are
some suggestions you may wish to investigate.
1 Count the number of vehicles passing a particular point on a road during a
given time period. (Road counters across roads typically record this
information.)
2 Observe the number of people waiting at a department store for the doors to
open the morning before a sale commences and on the morning on which it
occurs.
3 Record the wildlife in a park.
4 Take note of the number of early morning joggers during the week compared
with the numbers who jog during the weekend.
5 Record the variation in the price of petrol during the week.
There are many situations where data are obtained by observation. In some
situations, such data provide evidence for development of a scheme, concept or
physical resource. This form of data collection is commonly used for planning,
marketing and the preparation of reports.
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

Questionnaires
As mentioned previously, it is important to take care in designing the questionnaire in
order to obtain relevant and reliable data. In formulating the questions, we must also
keep in mind that we require the data so collected to be in a form which is not difficult
to analyse.
The questions posed can be either open or closed.
Open questions are those where the respondent has no guided boundaries within
which to answer. Questions that belong to this class include:
‘Who is your favourite singer?’
‘What is your favourite food?’
The main difficulty with open questions is that they are often difficult to classify and
analyse.
Closed questions are of the type where the respondent must answer within a
category. The question about food (above) could be rephrased as:
‘Which of the following foods do you prefer most?
K meat
K seafood
K poultry
K vegetables
K fruit’
Analysis of these answers would be easier than trying to fit the open-ended answers
into a category.
It must be noted that options such as:
K none of the above or
K don’t know
are to be avoided, if possible, as they provide the respondent with a non-compliance
exit.
Survey methods
This investigation is best undertaken in a small group.
There are advantages and disadvantages of each of the survey methods
mentioned previously. As a group, discuss the various methods, then copy and
complete the table below with as many advantages and disadvantages as you can.
Retain the table for consultation later in designing your own questionnaire.
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion
Type of survey Advantages Disadvantages
Personal interview
•
•
Telephone interview
•
•
Self-administered questionnaire
•
•

Twenty people answered the open question:
‘What do you particularly dislike about the way the news is presented on TV?’.
They provided the following responses.
1. The ads interrupt too often.
2. Have to wait too long for the headline items.
3. The violent scenes are too graphic.
4. It was better when it was only half an hour instead of a full hour.
5. There’s too much violence.
6. The reporters are politically biased.
7. The accident scenes are not sensitively handled.
8. Some of the reports are too long.
9. It’s all about politics.
10. It mixes up local, interstate and overseas news.
11. I’d like it to be shorter.
12. There are more advertisements than news.
13. It seems to concentrate on murder and death.
14. I find it far too long.
15. The newsreaders don’t pronounce names correctly.
16. It’s too informal.
17. The newsreader is far too old.
18. I don’t like ads interrupting the news.
19. Some reports show too much blood and gore.
20. The interviews by the reporters are too long.
Classify the responses into categories to identify the main reasons given.
THINK WRITE
Look for 4 or 5 categories under which
they could be classified.
Four main categories are apparent
1. Length
2. Violence
3. Advertisements
4. Newsreader
Classify the responses under these
headings.
Length
Responses No. 4, 8, 11, 14, 20
Violence
Responses No. 3, 5, 7, 13, 19
Advertisements
Responses No. 1, 12, 18
Newsreader
Responses No. 15, 16, 17
Identify those not classified. Those not classified are:
No. 2. Too long for headline items
No. 6. Reporters politically biased
No. 9. All about politics
No. 10. Mixes up news
1
2
3
3WORKEDExample

Preparing a questionnaire
In preparing good questions, it is advisable to keep the following points in mind:
1. The questions should flow smoothly from one to the next.
2. Introductory remarks should be included outlining the aim and purpose of the
questionnaire, along with any necessary instructions.
3. Jargon, slang and abbreviations should be avoided.
4. Do not ask questions which are vague or ambiguous.
5. Avoid bias and emotional language.
6. Avoid double-barrelled questions.
7. Do not pose leading questions (that is, those that lead to an expected response).
8. Make sure your questions are capable of being answered by your respondents.
9. Avoid questions with double negatives.
10. At the conclusion, thank the respondent for answering.
Good and bad question writing
As an aid to good questionnaire writing, it is helpful to practise writing questions,
then do a pilot test to determine whether the questions are clear.
1 In small groups, discuss each of the points in the list above to gain a
comprehensive understanding of good question writing.
2 Choose a topic that interests you.
3 Illustrate each of the points mentioned above by designing questions that do not
conform to the guidelines of ‘good question writing’.
4 Rewrite the questions in a clear format.
5 Conduct a pilot test of both sets of your questions on the members of your
group.
THINK WRITE
Identify the main reasons. The main reasons for people disliking the
TV news presentations seem to be centred
around the length of the news and the
violence portrayed.
Note: It is possible to classify these responses into different categories. No single way is
correct. In practice, the responses from open-ended questions are generally classified
several ways until the researcher is satisfied with the classifications.
4
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

Experiments
Collecting data by conducting experiments is commonly used in the sciences and
related fields. In order to draw reliable conclusions from experiments, the data must be
able to be reproduced. The conclusions from one experiment are frequently not suf-
ficient evidence on which to base a report.
Survey of bottled water
With an understanding of good question writing, we can now put these techniques
into practice by conducting a classroom survey.
Let us consider the bottled-water situation we encountered earlier in the chapter.
1. The aim of this survey is to discover:
(a) whether people prefer bottled water to tap water
(b) if purchasing bottled water, their brand preference
(c) how much bottled water they would drink in a week
(d) what they really know about bottled water.
2. To encourage your respondents to take care in completing your survey, it
should have variety and be interesting. All your questions should not be of the
same style. Be creative in your question construction. Questions such as:
‘Draw a mouth on each face to show how much you like the types of water’
create interest in your survey and encourage the respondents to answer with
care. Also consider styles like ‘circle the answer’ and ‘tick the box’.
1 Design your questions to fulfil the aims of the survey. Decide on the variables
to be recorded. Are they categorical, numerical, discrete or continuous?
2 Make copies of your questionnaire to be answered by other members of your
class; alternatively, draw up a table to record the answers if you wish to use the
interview technique; then conduct your survey.
3 Critically appraise your questionnaire’s effectiveness after its administration.
Did your questionnaire achieve the aims of the survey? Did your respondents
find it interesting? Did you feel that the data obtained were reliable? Should
you disregard any data?
4 Retain these results for later when we will look at the variety of methods we
can use to display data.
investigat
ioninv
estigat
ion
Love it
Tap water
Nice OK Not nice Horrible
Bottled water

Let us return to consider the bottled-water observation discussed earlier. Much vari-
ation is evident among the prices of the 1.5-litre bottles of water. An assumption would
be that the more expensive bottles contained better-quality water. An experiment could
be devised to determine whether consumers can detect differences in the quality of the
water samples with a relatively simple taste test.
Bottled water taste test
The aim of this experiment is to discover whether people can distinguish, by taste,
1. between different samples of bottled water (Test 1)
2. tap water from bottled water (Test 2).
This experiment would be best performed as a whole class activity.
1 Prepare three jugs: one containing tap water, one with a cheap variety of bottled
water and the third with an expensive variety of bottled water. Provide small
cups for each jug.
Because the samples may look different (for example, tap water may be slightly
coloured), this experiment would be best conducted with the participants
blindfolded.
2 For Test 1, blindfolded students will each be given a sip of a cheap variety and
a sip of an expensive variety of the bottled water. The test is to see whether the
taster can identify which is the cheaper variety and which the dearer.
3 Test 2 is conducted similarly, using bottled water and tap water.
4 Prepare a result sheet (as below).
a Record the taste tests.
b Are any conclusions obvious at his stage?
c Identify any problems with the tests.
5 Retain the results of this experiment for use later, when we will consider ways
of displaying data.
We must not forget that the results of this taste test could not be published
as conclusive evidence of the ability of consumers generally to be able (or
unable) to determine the quality of water. The results obtained by your class
would need to be conﬁrmed by similar results from tests performed on many
other groups.
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion
Student Test 1 ( or ✗) Test 2 ( or ✗)

Gathering data from
the World Wide Web (www)
The Web is an excellent resource for data collection. We will spend some time now
investigating web sites that provide interesting and relevant data for use later on.
1 A census is conducted on the Australian population every ﬁve years. The
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has published the results of the 1996
census with data available for viewing on their web site. It takes some time for
the data from a census to be collated and analysed, so the results of the next
census (2001) may not be available until some years afterwards. Browse the
site, noting the data available. Take a note of the web address for future
reference.
2 The Bureau of Meteorology publishes climatic data for numerous towns in
Queensland. Locate its web site and investigate the range of data displayed.
Take particular note of the data recorded for the city or town closest to where
you live. Record the site address for future use.
3 What is a ‘gallup poll’? This famous poll is named after its founder, the
American statistician, George Gallup, who was born in 1901. Another well-
known poll is the Morgan Gallup Poll which publishes statistics on a variety of
topical issues throughout the world. Search the Web for information on gallup
polls. Record your ﬁndings in the form of a poster and present the results of
your search to the class.
investigat
ioninv
estigat
ion
remember
1. Some important methods of collecting data are observations, surveys and
experiments.
2. All data collection requires careful planning with regard to the variables
recorded in order to maintain the quality of the data collected.
3. A survey may be conducted personally, via the telephone or it may be self-
administered. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages.
4. Care must be exercised in constructing a questionnaire so that the responses
collected are of good quality.
5. The questions may be of an open or closed format.
6. Open questions must eventually be placed in categories before proceeding to
the stage of presentation.
7. The data obtained from experiments must be capable of being reproduced
before generalisations can be made.
8. In all cases of data collection, the quality and reliability of the data must be
examined before processing.
remember

Collecting data
1 Explain what you understand by the terms ‘open’ and ‘closed’ questions. Give an
example of an open question. Rewrite your question in a closed format.
2 Twenty students were asked their opinions about the cause of congestion at the school’s
front gate. Analyse their responses below, suggest categories into which they could be
classified and identify the most commonly stated reasons for the congestion.
1. The cars shouldn’t come up the front driveway.
2. The front entrance is too small.
3. There should be another entrance.
4. The buses are the problem.
5. The students get in the way of the cars.
6. Bike riders should have a separate entrance.
7. The Senior school and the Junior school should start and finish at different times.
8. The cars block the gate.
9. The bike riders don’t know the road rules.
10. The buses should stop further down the road.
11. Too many students.
12. Parents don’t care where they park.
13. The front gates should be wider.
14. Bike riders should go out the back gate.
15. Kids block the cars.
16. Kids just sit around talking there.
17. There should be a traffic control officer there to direct the traffic.
18. Students should not just sit around there.
19. The buses all arrive at the same time.
20. The road is too narrow.
3 Thirty students were asked: ‘Identify one thing in your maths course which you par-
ticularly don’t like’. Classify the responses below into appropriate categories, then
identify the main reasons.
1. It’s too hard.
2. There’s too much homework.
3. I can’t understand the teacher.
4. It’s boring.
5. The boys are too distracting.
6. The teacher doesn’t like girls.
7. It’s too much work.
8. We get homework every night.
9. I can’t understand it.
10. The boys show off.
11. The boys always get better marks.
12. I can’t concentrate for that length of time.
13. We do something new every lesson.
14. I don’t like working in groups.
15. The teacher expects too much.
16. Our teacher is too strict.
9B
WORKED
Example
3

17. The teacher doesn’t help us enough with our problems.
18. There’s too much work to cover.
19. We’re expected to do assignments.
20. I don’t like doing presentations to the class.
21. Our class is too big.
22. The work is not interesting.
23. I just don’t understand maths.
24. I don’t like the teacher.
25. The teacher expects too much of us.
26. There’s too much work to cover.
27. We’re expected to remember too much.
28. It won’t help me later in life.
29. The teacher picks on me because I don’t understand the work.
30. The course is not relevant.
4 Identify the areas of concern in the following questions, then rewrite each so that the
meaning is clear and understandable.
(a) How much do you earn?
(b) Do you exercise regularly?
(c) Is the GST in Australia less than the VAT in England?
(d) Do you generally support the causes of murderous terrorists who threaten the lives
of peace-loving people?
(e) Do you support the Prime Minister’s policy on wildlife preservation?
(f) What is your height in inches?
(g) Did you buy your sneakers for comfort and quality?
(h) You don’t agree with charging more for skim milk (where they’ve taken out the
cream) than for full cream milk, do you?
(i) Do you agree that we should do more for our ‘diggers’ who risked their lives
during the war so that we could be free?
5 Write the following open questions in closed format.
(a) What is your age?
(b) How much pocket money do you get each week?
(c) How do you travel to school?
(d) What type of destination do you prefer for a holiday?
Data preparation
Having considered so far the collection of data by observation, survey and experimental
methods, we must now reﬂect on the techniques at our disposal for treating these data.
However, before we rush into doing calculations, compiling tables and drawing graphs,
we must ﬁrst carefully examine the data for anomalies.
We must make a decision with regard to non-compliant responses from a respon-
dent. Sometimes a decision is made just to disregard those non-compliant responses
and to count the remainder of the compliant responses of the survey from the respon-
dent. At other times, the whole survey from that respondent is disregarded. Alterna-
tively, we could cope with the dilemma (after the survey has been administered) by
providing another category in the question to absorb all those responses which do not
slot into the categories given.

Data must also be checked for recording errors, which commonly occur. Recording
errors should not be included as part of the data as they will distort calculations. Where
possible, when errors are detected, every effort should be made to correct the data
(make new observations, contact the respondent etc.). If for any reason the errors
cannot be rectified, that record should be excluded.
In the business world, databases are often created to allow responses for each ques-
tion only within defined constraints (a database may not allow a number entry where a
word was expected, for instance). This reduces the chance of recording invalid data, but
would not stop you entering your age as 66 instead of 16, so careful scrutiny and
checking of data are essential before the results are displayed and analysed.
Organising and displaying data
Organising data
Once data have been collected and checked for errors they need to be put into an organ-
ised form. This involves tallying the responses to a questionnaire, accurately recording
your observations or tabulating the results of your research.
This task is made easier if the questionnaire is designed with ease of tabulation in
mind. Usually the results are first organised into a table and the number of responses in
each category recorded. This is often done with tally marks and using the gatepost
method.
A survey is conducted among 24 students who were asked to name their favourite
spectator sport. Their responses are recorded below.
AFL Cricket Cricket Soccer Rugby League
Cricket Tennis Cricket AFL Rugby League
AFL AFL Rugby Union Soccer Netball
Basketball Basketball Netball AFL Cricket
Cricket AFL Rugby League Cricket
Put these results into a table.
THINK WRITE
Draw a table and beside each sport put a
tally mark for each response. Every fifth
tally mark becomes a gatepost.
Sport Tally Frequency
AFL |||| | 6
Basketball || 2
Cricket |||| || 7
Netball || 2
Rugby League ||| 3
Rugby Union | 1
Soccer || 2
Tennis | 1
4WORKEDExample

For simplicity, numerical data may be tabulated in groups.
Displaying data
The most common way of displaying data is by using a graph. Different graphs have
different purposes. We will now look brieﬂy at column graphs and sector graphs, then
look at histograms, stem plots and boxplots.
Column graphs
A column graph (or bar graph) is used when we wish to show a quantity. Categories
are written on the horizontal axis and frequencies on the vertical axis.
A Year 11 class was surveyed on their weekly income. The responses are shown below.
$75 $115 $60 $54 $88 $0 $98 $102
$56 $45 $83 $71 $40 $37 $87 $117
$43 $79 $58 $89 $70 $105 $99 $55
Complete the table below.
Income Tally Frequency
0–20
21–40
41–60
61–80
81–100
101–120
THINK WRITE
Count the number of responses within each
category and put a tally mark in the
column.
Income Tally Frequency
0–20 | 1
21–40 || 2
41–60 |||| || 7
61–80 |||| 4
81–100 |||| | 6
101–120 |||| 4
5WORKEDExample

Sector graphs
A sector graph (circle graph, or pie
graph) is used when we want the
graph to display a comparison of
quantities. An angle is drawn at the
centre of the circle that is the same
fraction of 360° as the fraction of
people making each response.
The table below shows the results of the survey
on favourite sports.
Show this information in a column graph.
Sport Frequency
AFL 6
Basketball 2
Cricket 7
Netball 2
Rugby League 3
Rugby Union 1
Soccer 2
Tennis 1
THINK WRITE
Draw the horizontal axis showing each sport.
Draw a vertical axis to show frequencies up to 7.
Draw the columns all the same width with
gaps between.
Use a ruler.
Label the axes.
Give the graph a title.
1
A
FL
Basketball
Cricket
N
etball
RugbyLeague
RugbyUnion
Soccer
Tennis
Sport
Favourite sports of 24 students
Frequency
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2
3
4
5
6
6WORKEDExample
MQ Maths A Yr 11 - 09 Page 343 Thursday, July 5, 2001 10:54 AM

These graphs can also be drawn using a spreadsheet and the charting tool.
In our next investigation we shall explore how to enter data into a spreadsheet and
how to display the results in a variety of graphical forms.
For the table in worked example 6, draw a sector graph.
THINK WRITE
Calculate each angle as a fraction
of 360°.
AFL = × 360° Basketball = × 360°
= 90° = 30°
Cricket = × 360° Netball = × 360°
= 105° = 30°
Rugby League = × 360°
= 45°
Rugby Union = × 360°
= 15°
Soccer = × 360° Tennis = × 360°
= 30° = 15°
Draw the graph.
Label each sector or provide a
legend.
1 6
24
------
2
24
------
7
24
------
2
24
------
3
24
------
1
24
------
2
24
------
1
24
------
2
3
AFL
Basketball
Cricket
Netball
Rugby League
Rugby Union
Soccer
Tennis
Sport
7WORKEDExample

Organising and displaying
data using column and sector
graphs
1 A class of students was asked to identify the make of car their family owned. Their
responses are shown below.
Holden Ford Nissan Mazda Toyota Holden
Ford Holden Ford Mitsubishi Toyota Toyota
Nissan Holden Holden Ford Toyota Mazda
Mazda Toyota Ford Holden Holden Ford
Mitsubishi Toyota Holden Ford Ford Toyota
2 The results of a spelling test done by 30 students are shown below.
6 7 6 8 4 6 6 7 5 9
5 7 8 10 5 9 7 7 7 6
4 7 8 8 7 8 6 5 9 7
3 The marks scored on a Maths exam, out of 100, by 25 Year 11 students are shown
below.
87 44 95 66 78 69 66 92 78
54 60 66 69 66 77 79 66 71
71 83 74 81 69 70 57
Copy and complete the table below.
Mark Tally Frequency
40–49
50–59
60–69
70–79
80–89
90–99
remember
1. When data are collected they are usually ﬁrst organised into table form.
2. Data can be easily counted using a tally column and the gatepost method.
3. Sometimes numerical data are better organised into categories.
4. A column graph is drawn when we want to display quantities.
5. A sector graph is drawn when we want to compare quantities.
remember
9C
WORKED
Example
4
E
XCEL Spread
sheet
Frequency
tally tables
E
XCEL Spread
sheet
Frequency
tally tables
DIY
WORKED
Example
5

4 The data below show the number of customers that entered a shop each day in a
certain month.
114 195 175 163 180 120 204 199
178 216 200 147 168 173 102 150
169 185 173 164 130 119 158 163
141 155 132 143 190 179 200
Choose suitable groupings to tabulate these data.
5 Draw a column graph to display the data from question 1.
6 Draw a sector graph to display the data from question 1.
10 Draw a sector graph to compare the number of people in each category from
question 3.
For questions 1–4, state if the data are quantitative or qualitative. If they are quantitative,
also state whether they are continuous or discrete.
1 Customers in a video shop vote for their favourite movie.
2 Customers in a video shop have records kept on the number of movies they hire each
year.
3 The video shop keeps records of the number of times each movie has been hired.
4 The video shop keeps records of the length of each movie.
The bar chart at right shows the marital status of
respondents to a survey.
5 How many people responded to the survey?
6 What was the most common marital status?
7 How many people were married?
8 How many respondents were either divorced or
separated?
9 How many people had been married at some time?
10 Draw a pie/sector graph of the data.
EXCE
L Spreadshe
et
Column
graphs
WORKED
Example
6
EXCE
L Spreadshe
et
Column
graphs
DIY
WORKED
Example
7
SkillS
HEET 9.1
Work
SHEET 9.1
1
Frequency
Never
married
Married
Divorced
Separated
Widowed
5
10
15

Spreadsheets — Displaying
numerical data
Worked examples 6 and 7 explained the calculations needed to display manually
the same numerical data as a column graph and as a sector (pie) graph. In this
activity, we look at entering the data into a spreadsheet, then exploring some of the
graphical tools available. The instructions provided refer to the Excel spreadsheet.
If you are using a different spreadsheet, your teacher will give you the equivalent
commands.
1 Enter the heading ‘Sport’ and the categories of sport in Column A as shown
above.
2 Enter the heading ‘Frequency’ and the relative frequencies in Column B as
shown.
• Highlight the sporting classiﬁcations and the frequencies, enter the Chart
Wizard and select the Column graph option. Follow the instructions,
remembering to label the axes and title the graph, to produce the column
graph shown above.
• Select the data again and follow through the Chart Wizard to produce the
pie graph shown.
• Print out a copy of your table and graphs.
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

categorical coded data
The previous investigation dealt with entering and graphing numerical data.
Frequently, data are collected in categories that are each given a code. Examine the
shopping survey shown below. It represents a section of the ‘Australian Shoppers
Survey’ distributed by PMP Data Based Marketing to households in Australia.
investigat
ioninv
estigat
ion
1. How many litres of soy milk do you consume per week?
1–2 litres 1 3–4 litres 2 4 litres + 3
2. Which of the following beverages would you consider having home delivered?
Juice 1 Water 2 Soft Drink 3
3. How often do you have your hair coloured at a salon?
More than once per 6 weeks 1 Every 3 months 3 Once a year 5
Once every 6 weeks 2 Every 6 months 4 Never 6
4. How often do you purchase shampoo?
Once a week 1 Once a month 3
Once a fortnight 2 Once every 2 mths 4
5. What type of washing machine do you own/use?
Top Loader 1 Front Loader 3
6. What brands of laundry detergent do you regularly use?
Once a week 01 Dynamo 05 Radiant 09
Cold Power 02 Dynamomatic 06 Surf 10
Cold Powermatic 03 Omo 07 Other 11
Drive 04 Omomatic
7. Which of the following is your main toy store?
Big W 01 Mr Toys 05 Toys ‘R’ Us 09
dstore 02 Myer 06 toyspot.com 10
Grace Bros. 03 Target 07 Toyworld 11
K-mart 04 Toy Kingdom
8. How many dogs do you have in your home?
None 1 One 2 Two 3 3 or more 4
9. How many cats do you have in your home?
None 1 One 2 Two 3 3 or more 4
10. Do you treat your pets for any of the following?
Fleas/Ticks 1 Worms 2
11. Do you or your partner smoke? Yes 1 No 2
12. Please sign that you are over 18 and a smoker:
Your signature_______________________________________________________________
Partner’s signature ___________________________________________________________
13. Have you purchased or would you consider purchasing any of the following
by mail or telephone? Have Bought Considering
You Ptnr You Ptnr
Books 01 23 12 34
Computer Equipment 02 24 13 35
Computer Software 03 25 14 36
Cosmetics 04 26 15 37
Craft Products 05 27 16 38
Fashion Wear 06 28 17 39
Kitchen Products 07 29 18 40
Music (Tapes, CDs, Records) 08 30 19 41
Videos 09 31 20 42
Vitamins/Health Supplements 10 32 21 43
Wine 11 33 22 44
14. Have you/your partner bought or searched for goods to buy over the internet?
You 1 Your partner 2
Thinking about buying beauty care products which are new to the market,
please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements:
15. In general, I am among the first to buy new beauty care products when they
appear on the market.
Strongly Agree 1 Somewhat Disagree 4
Somewhat Agree 2 Strongly Disagree 5
Neither Agree or Disagree 3
16. I enjoy taking chances in buying new beauty care products.
Strongly Agree 1 Somewhat Disagree 4
Somewhat Agree 2 Strongly Disagree 5
Neither Agree or Disagree 3
2. SHOPPING

Notice that:
1. all the questions are of the closed type
2. the response categories for the questions each have a code associated with them
(this enables them to be entered into a computer database or spreadsheet for
analysis)
3. the ordinal data in questions 15 and 16 are coded.
Let us take a small number of responses to question 15 and see how the data might
be treated.
1 Open a spreadsheet, head Column A with ‘Respondent’ and enter the
respondents’ names as shown below.
2 Head Column B as ‘Code’, then enter the coded responses shown beneath the
heading.
3 Columns A and B represent the raw data. We will collate these records on the
spreadsheet to the right of these columns.
4 Head Column D with the word ‘Code’, then enter the coded categories 1 to 5
beneath.
5 In Column E, enter the meanings of the coded categories beside their
respective code (this just makes the spreadsheet and graphs more meaningful).
6 Head Column F with the word ‘Number’. In this column we are going to
count the number of 1’s, 2’s etc. which occur in all the responses in Column
B. The formula that enables us to do this is the COUNTIF command. Its
format is =COUNTIF(range,criteria).
7 To count the number of 1’s in the range B3 to B14, the formula would be
=COUNTIF(B3:B14,1). Enter this formula in Cell F3.

Methods of misrepresenting data
Many people have reasons for misrepresenting data: politicians may wish to magnify
the progress achieved during their term, or business people may wish to accentuate
their reported profits. There are numerous ways of misrepresenting data. In this section,
only graphical methods of misrepresentation are considered.
Vertical axis and horizontal axis
It is a truism that the steeper the graph the better the growth appears. A ‘rule of thumb’
for statisticians is that for the sake of appearances, the vertical axis should be two-
thirds to three-quarters the length of the horizontal axis. This rule was established in
order to have some comparability between graphs.
The following figure illustrates how distorted the graph appears when the vertical
axis is disproportionately large.
8 To count the number of 2’s, in Cell F4 enter the formula
=COUNTIF(B3:B14,2).
9 Complete Cells F5, F6 and F7 with similar formulas to count the number of
responses coded 3, 4 and 5 in Column B.
10 Use the Chart Wizard with Columns E and F to display graphically the
responses.
11 Print out a copy of your spreadsheet and graph/s.
data from the Web
In previous web searches you have noted web sites with interesting and relevant
data. Select one of these sites and obtain the necessary data.
1 Enter the data into a spreadsheet. Remember to include meaningful headings to
enhance the quality of your display.
2 Present your data in both table and graphical form (don’t forget to label axes
and include a title).
3 Print out a copy of your presentation and arrange it in a poster format.
4 Examine your graph/s and write a summary of the data.
5 Present your findings to the class.
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

Changing the scale on the vertical axis
The following table gives the holdings of ROPE Corporation during 2001.
Quarter
Holdings in
$’000 000
J–M
A–J
J–S
O–D
200
200
201
202
Secondary
roads
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10 000
11 000
12 000
13 000
Sealed
Paved
Formed
Unconstructed
State
highways
Urban and
sub arterials
Main roads
Developmental
roads
Declared roads as at 30 June 1979
Lengthofroad(km)
Source: Dept of Mapping Surveying (1980),
Queensland resources atlas, 2nd rev. ed.
(Courtesy Dept of Lands)

Here is one way of representing
this data:
But it is not very spectacular,
is it? Now look at the following
graph.
The shareholders would be
happier with this one.
Omitting certain values
If one chose to ignore the second
quarter’s value, which shows no
increase, then the graph would look
even better.
Foreshortening the vertical axis
Look at the ﬁgures below. Notice in graph (a) that the numbers from 0 to 4000 have
been omitted. In graph (b) these numbers have been inserted. The rate of growth of the
Queensland Police Force looks far less spectacular in graph (b) than in graph (a).
Foreshortening the vertical axis is a very common procedure. It does have the
advantage of giving extra detail but it can give the wrong impression about growth
rates.
100
200
300
Holdings($’000000)
Quarter
x x x x
J-M A-J J-S O-D
200.5
201
201.5
Quarter
x x
x
x
J-M A-J J-S O-D
200
202
200.5
201
201.5
Quarter
x
x
x
J-M J-S O-D
200
202
4500
5000
5500
Qldpolicestrength
79
4000
1977 81 83 85 87
x x x
x
x x
x x
x
x
x
1000
2000
3000
Qldpolicestrength
791977 81 83 85 87
x
x
x
x
x x x x
(a) (b)
4000
5000 x
x
x
Source: Qld Year Book, 1989, p.53 and The Australian Bureau of Statistics.
YearYear

Visual impression
In this graph, height is the property that gives the true relation, yet the impression of a
much greater increase is given by the volume of each money bag.
A non-linear scale on an axis or on both axes
Consider the following two graphs.
Both of these graphs show the same numerical information. But graph (a) has a
linear scale on the vertical axis and graph (b) does not. Graph (a) emphasises the ever-
increasing rate of growth of pollutants while graph (b) suggests a slower, linear growth.
400
300
200
100
$m
1990 1995 2000
S S
Year
Net value of production
S
100
200
300
400
500
95 96 97 98 99
Particles/unitarea
Year
(a)
100
200
300
95 96 97 98 99
Particles/unitarea
Year
500
(b)
The following data give wages and profits for a certain company. All figures are in millions
of dollars.
Continued over page
Year 1985 1990 1995 2000
Wages
% increase in wages
Profits
% increase in profits
6
25
1
20
9
50
1·5
50
13
44
2·5
66
20
54
5
100
8WORKEDExample

Now consider the graphs:
Consider the following questions.
a Do the graphs accurately reflect the data?
b Which graph would you rather have published if you were:
ii an employer dealing with employees requesting pay increases?
ii an employee negotiating with an employer for a pay increase?
THINK WRITE
a Look at the scales on both axes. All
scales are linear.
a Graphs do represent data accurately. How-
ever, quite a different picture of wage and
profit increases is painted by graphing with
different units on the y-axis.
Look at the units on both axes.
Graph (a) has y-axis in $ while
graph (b) has y-axis in %.
b ii Compare wage increase with
profit increases.
i The employer wants high profits.
b ii The employer would prefer graph (a)
because he/she could argue that
employees’ wages were increasing at a
greater rate than profits.
ii Consider again the increases in
wages and profits.
The employee doesn’t like to see
profits increasing at a much
greater rate than wages.
ii The employee would choose graph (b),
arguing that profits were increasing at a
great rate while wage increases clearly
lagged behind.
4
8
12
16
20
1985 1990 1995 2000
Wagesandprofits($m)
Year
2
6
10
14
18
Wages
Profits
(a)
25
50
75
100
1985 1990 1995 2000
Wagesandprofits(%increase)
Year
Profits
Wages
(b)
1
2
1
2
1
2
remember
To determine whether data in graphical form have been misrepresented, check
that:
1. scale on both axes is linear
2. scales on vertical and horizontal axes have not been lengthened or shortened to
give a biased impression
3. certain values have not been omitted in the graph
4. picture graphs are drawn to represent a height and not a volume
remember

Graphical methods of
misrepresenting data
1 This graph shows the dollars spent
on health care for 1990, 1994, and
1998. Draw another bar graph that
minimises the fall in health care
funds.
2 Examine this graph of employment growth.
Why is this graph misleading?
3 Examine this graph.
a Redraw this graph with the vertical axis showing road fatalities starting at 0.
b Does the decrease in road fatalities appear to be as signiﬁcant as the graph
suggests?
9D
WORKED
Example
8
101
102
103
104
1990 1994 1998
Healthcarecost($m)
100
105
0
1
2
3
1947 1954 1961 1966
Growth of total employment, 1947–1981
1971 1976 1981
4
5
6
Totalemployment
(millions)
400
450
500
550
600
650
1987 1984 1981 1978 1975 1972 1969
Road fatalities, Queensland
Source: Qld Year Book, 1989, p. 205 and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

4 This graph shows the student-to-teacher ratio in Queensland for the years 1979 to 1987.
Apart from the fact that the 0 on the vertical scale has not been shown, this graph is
misleading.
In 1981 what was the student-to-teacher ratio at:
a non-government schools?
b government schools?
How can you explain this when most classes in the city government schools are 25 or
more? Explain fully.
5 You run a company that is listed on the Stock Exchange. During 2002 you have given
substantial rises in salary to all your staff. However, profits have not been as spectacular
as in 2001. The following table gives the figures for the mean salary and profits for
each quarter. Draw 2 graphs, one showing profits, the other showing salaries, that will
show you in the best possible light to your shareholders.
6 You are a manufacturer and your plant is discharging heavy metals into a waterway.
Your own chemists do tests every 3 months and the following table gives the
results for a period of 2 years. Draw a graph which will show your company in the
best light.
1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter
Profits
$’000 000
Salaries
$’000 000
6
4
5·9
5·9
6
6
6·5
7·5
2000 2001
Date
Concentration
(parts per million)
Jan.
7
Apr.
9
July
18
Oct.
25
Jan.
30
Apr.
40
July
49
Oct.
57
15
17
19
21
1987 1985 1983 1981
Student to teacher ratio, Queensland
1979
Rate
Non-government
Government
(a)
(a) Break in continuity of series
Source: Qld Year Book, 1989, p. 125 and The Australian Bureau of Statistics.

7 This pie graph shows the break-up of workers compensation costs incurred by
employers other than the government.
a What fraction of the total costs are weekly compensation payouts and statutory
lump sum claims?
b What angle should be at the centre of this sector?
c What angle is at the centre of this sector?
d Why has this distortion of angle occurred? Discuss how this might be used to mis-
lead the reader.
8 This graph shows how the $27 that a buyer pays for a CD is distributed among the
departments involved in its production and marketing.
You are required to ﬁnd out whether or not the graph is misleading, to explain fully
your reasoning, and to support any statements that you make. Also,
a comment on the shape of the graph and how it could be obtained.
b Does your visual impression of the graph support the ﬁgures?
The community is constantly bombarded with graphical representations of data. We
must be aware that these displays are carefully constructed so that a cursory glance
conveys the impression intended by the presenter. On closer inspection, a different
impression is often revealed. It is wise to look at the detail in a graph and not to rely
simply on the overall visual impact.
Break-up of non-government workers compensation costs
Common law
claims $143.5m Common law fees
and outlays $19m
Total $202.8m
Source: Courier-Mail, 21 September 1991.
Weekly compensation
payouts and statutory lump
sum claims $40.3m
Where your $27 goes
Mechanical
royalties $1.57
Record company
profit $1.54
Advertising
$1.94 Sales tax
$3.27
Production
$3.40
Other recording
costs 65c
Distribution 56c
Record shop $7.40
Record company
administration costs $1.54
Royalties and costs
to artist $3.86
Record company
sales process $1.27

Misleading reports
1 Look in any newspaper, magazine or government publication and select three
different types of statistical presentation. Discuss the reasons why each
particular type of presentation was chosen and whether other forms of
presentation might have been just as good.
2 Look at the annual report of a company and discuss critically the forms of
statistical presentation used.
3 Collect three examples of misleading graphs. For each graph explain how it is
misleading. How do such misleading graphs benefit the people who produced
the graphs?
4 Work in groups to prepare misleading company reports with graphs of wages,
profits and percentage increases. Present a report to the class. Other students
must spot the flaws.
5 Work in groups to design a suitable advertisement to explain why someone
should become a member of your club.
a Draw a graph to support your claims.
b Present your graph and argument to the class.
c While other groups are presenting, list any information they have left out.
d Find other advertisements that use this technique to give certain viewpoints.
e List some additional information you think should have been given.
Spreadsheets creating
misleading graphs
Let us return to worked example 8 and use a spreadsheet to draw graph (a).
investigat
ioninv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

Other forms of graphical display
We shall now consider three other forms of graphical display of data: histograms, stem
plots and boxplots.
Displaying data using frequency histograms
A frequency histogram is similar to a column graph with the following essential
features.
1. Gaps are never left between the columns, except for a half-unit space before the first
column.
2. If the chart is coloured or shaded then it is done all in one colour. (The columns are
essentially all representing different levels of the same thing.)
3. Frequency is always plotted on the vertical axis.
4. For ungrouped data the horizontal scale is marked so that the data labels appear
under the centre of each column. For grouped data the horizontal scale is marked so
that the class centre of each class appears under the centre of the column.
1 Enter the data as indicated in the spreadsheet above.
2 Graph the data using the Chart Wizard. You should obtain a graph similar to
Graph 1.
3 Copy and paste the graph twice within the spreadsheet.
4 Graph 2 gives the impression that the wages are a great deal higher than the
profits. This effect was obtained by reducing the length of the horizontal axis.
Experiment with shortening the horizontal length and lengthening the vertical
axis.
5 In Graph 3 we get the impression that the wages and profits are not very
different. This effect was obtained by lengthening the horizontal axis and
shortening the vertical axis. Experiment with various combinations.
6 Print out your three graphs and examine their differences.
Note that all three graphs have been drawn from the same data using valid scales.
A cursory glance leaves us with three different impressions. Clearly, it is important
to look carefully at the scales on the axes of graphs.
Another method which could be used to change the shape of a graph is to
change the scale of the axes.
7 Right click on the axis value, enter the Format axis option, click on the Scale
tab, then experiment with changing the scale values on both axes.
Techniques such as these are used to create different visual impressions of the
same data.
8 Use the data in the table of worked example 8 to create a spreadsheet, then
produce two graphs depicting the percentage increase in both wages and profits
over the years giving the impression that:
a the profits of the company have not grown at the expense of wage increases
(the percentage increase in wages is similar to the percentage increase in
profits)
b the company appears to be exploiting its employees (the percentage
increase in profits is greater than that for wages).

A frequency polygon is a line graph that can be
drawn by joining the centres of the tops of each
column of the histogram. The polygon starts and
finishes on the horizontal axis a half column width
space from the group boundary of the first and last
groups.
The figure at right shows the frequency polygon
drawn on top of the histogram for the previous
worked example.
It is common practice to draw the histogram and
the polygon on the same set of axes.
The table below shows the number of people living in each house in a street.
Show this information in a frequency histogram.
No. of people Frequency
1 1
2 4
3 10
4 15
5 8
THINK WRITE
Draw a set of axes with the number of
people living in a house on the
horizontal axis and frequency on the
vertical axis.
Draw the graph, leaving half a column
width space before the first column.
1
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2 3 4 5
Number of people in a house
Frequency
2
9WORKEDExample
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2 3 4 5
Number of people in a house
Frequency
The frequency table below shows a class set of marks on an exam. Draw a frequency
histogram and polygon on the same set of axes.
Mark Class centre Frequency
51–60 55.5 3
61–70 65.5 5
71–80 75.5 12
81–90 85.5 7
91–100 95.5 3
10WORKEDExample

A graphics calculator can also be used to draw histograms. The instructions given
below are for the Texas Instruments TI 83 graphics calculator. If you have another var-
iety, your teacher will show you the equivalent commands.
THINK WRITE
Draw a set of axes with the exam mark on the
horizontal axis and frequency on the vertical
axis. Show the class centres for the exam marks.
Draw the columns, leaving a half-column-width
space before the ﬁrst column.
Draw a line graph to the centre of each column.
Make sure the line graph begins and ends on the
horizontal axis.
1
55.5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
65.5
75.5
85.5
95.5
Exam mark
Frequency
2
3
4
The marks out of 20 received by 30 students for a book-review assignment are given in the
frequency table below.
Display these data on a histogram using a graphics calculator.
Mark 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Frequency 2 7 6 5 4 2 3 0 1
THINK DISPLAY
Enter the data.
(a) Clear any previous equations.
(b) Press and clear any functions.
(c) Press , select 1:Edit and press .
(d) Enter the marks in L1 and the frequency in L2.
Set up the calculator for graphing.
(a) Press [STAT PLOT] and select 1:Plot1.
Press .
(b) Select On and press .
(c) Select the type of graph required. The
histogram is the third along on the top row.
(d) At Xlist type in L1.
(e) At Freq type in L2.
(f) Press and highlight 9:Zoom Stat;
press .
(g) If not all of the histogram is shown, press
and reset the x- and y-range and
step values.
1
Y=
STAT ENTER
2
2nd
ENTER
ENTER
ZOOM
ENTER
WINDOW
11WORKEDExample

Histograms and frequency
polygons
This exercise can be completed manually,
or with the aid of a graphics calculator.
1 A survey is done on young drivers taking
the written test for their licence.
The number of mistakes each makes
is recorded and the results are shown in
the frequency distribution table at right.
Show this information in a frequency
histogram.
2 Students in a class were asked the
number of children in their families.
The results are shown in the frequency
distribution table at right.
histogram and polygon.
3 The table below shows the age in years of
the members of a surf club.
polygon.
remember
1. Numerical data can be graphed using histograms and polygons.
2. When drawing histograms always put frequency on the vertical axis and never
leave gaps between columns.
3. If the histogram is illustrating ungrouped data, the data labels on the horizontal
axis are placed under the centre of each column.
4. If the histogram is illustrating grouped data, the data labels on the horizontal
axis (that is, the class centres) are placed under the centre of each column.
5. A frequency polygon is a line graph, which can be drawn by joining the centres
of the tops of each column of the histogram.
remember
9E
GCpr
ogram
UV
statistics
WORKED
Example
9
No. of mistakes
(score)
No. of drivers
(frequency)
0 5
1 8
2 11
3 4
4 3
5 1
EXCE
L Spreadshe
et
Histograms
and frequency
polygons
No. of children
in a family Frequency
0 3
2 5
3 8
4 4
5 2
6 1
Age No. of members
18 3
19 5
20 8
21 13
22 15
23 10
24 8
25 5

4 The label on a box of matches states that the average contents of a box is 50 matches.
Quality control surveyed 50 boxes for the number of matches and the results are
shown below.
48 50 50 51 50 49 53 52 48 51
50 50 51 49 48 53 52 50 49 49
49 50 50 51 53 52 54 47 50 49
48 49 47 53 49 52 50 51 50 50
50 48 47 50 51 49 50 49 52 51
a Put this information into a frequency table.
b Show the results in a frequency histogram and polygon.
5 The table below shows the length of 71 ﬁsh caught in a competition.
Show this information in a frequency histogram and polygon.
6 Sixty people were involved in a psychology experiment. The following frequency
table shows the times taken for the 60 people to complete a puzzle for the experiment.
a Copy the frequency table and complete the class centre column.
b Show the information in a frequency histogram and polygon.
Length of ﬁsh
(mm) Class centre Frequency
300–309 304.5 9
310–319 314.5 15
320–329 324.5 20
330–339 334.5 12
340–349 344.5 8
350–359 354.5 7
Time taken
(seconds) Class centre Frequency
6 to almost 8 1
8 to almost 10 4
10 to almost 12 15
12 to almost 14 18
14 to almost 16 12
16 to almost 18 8
18 to almost 20 2
WORKED
Example
10

Stem-and-leaf plots
As an alternative to a frequency table, a stem-and-leaf plot may be used to group and
summarise data.
A stem is made using the first part of each piece of data. The second part of each
piece of data forms the leaves. Consider the case below.
The following data show the mass (in kg) of 20 possums trapped, weighed then
released by a wildlife researcher.
1.8 0.9 0.7 1.4 1.6 2.1 2.7 2.2 1.8 2.3
2.3 1.5 1.1 2.2 3.0 2.5 2.7 3.2 1.9 1.7
The stem is made from the whole number part of the mass and the leaves are the
decimal part. The first piece of data was 1.8 kg. The stem of this number could be con-
sidered to be 1 and the leaf 0.8. The second piece of data was 0.9. It has a stem of 0 and
a leaf of 0.9.
To compose the stem-
and-leaf plot, rule a vertical
column of stems then enter
the leaf of each piece of data
in a neat row beside the
appropriate stem. The first
row of the stem-and-leaf plot
records all data from 0.0 to 0.9.
The second row records data
from 1.0 to 1.9 etc.
Attach a key to the plot to show the reader the meaning of each entry.
It is convention to assemble the data in order of size, so this stem-and-leaf plot
should be written in such a way that the numbers in each row of ‘leafs’ are in ascending
order.
Key: 0 | 7 = 0.7 kg
When preparing a stem-and-leaf plot, it is important to try to keep the numbers in
neat vertical columns because a neat plot gives the reader an idea of the distribution of
scores. The plot itself looks a bit like a histogram turned on its side.
Stem
0
1
2
3
Leaf
7 9
1 4 5 6 7 8 8 9
1 2 2 3 3 5 7 7
0 2

It is also useful to be able to represent data with a class size of 5. This could be done
for the previous stem-and-leaf plot by choosing stems 0*, 1, 1*, 2, 2*, 3 where the class
with stem 1 contains all the data from 1.0 to 1.4 and stem 1* contains the data from 1.5
to 1.9 etc. If stems are split in this way it is a good idea to include two entries in the
key. The stem-and-leaf plot for the ‘possum’ data would appear as follows:
Key: 1 | 1 = 1.1 kg 1* | 5 = 1.5
A stem-and-leaf plot has the following advantages over a frequency distribution
table.
1. The plot itself gives a graphical representation of the spread of data. (It is
rather like a histogram turned on its side.)
2. All the original data are retained, so there is no loss of accuracy when
calculating statistics such as the mean and standard deviation. In a grouped
frequency distribution table some generalisations are made when these values
are calculated.
Stem
0*
1*
1*
2*
2*
3*
Leaf
7 9
1 4
5 6 7 8 8 9
1 2 2 3 3
5 7 7
0 2
The information below shows the mass, in kilograms, of twenty 16-year-old boys.
65 45 56 57 58 54 61 72 70 69
61 58 49 52 64 71 66 65 66 60
Show this information in a stem-and-leaf plot.
THINK WRITE
Make the ‘tens’ the stem and the ‘units’
the leaves.
Write a key. Key: 5 | 6 = 56 kg
Complete the plot.
Note: Complete the plot with the leaves in
each row in ascending order.
1
2
3 Stem
4
5
6
7
Leaf
5 9
6 7 8 4 8 2
5 1 9 1 4 6 5 6 0
2 0 1
Stem
4
5
6
7
Leaf
5 9
2 4 6 7 8 8
0 1 1 4 5 5 6 6 9
0 1 2
12WORKEDExample

Since all the original data are recorded on the stem-and-leaf plot and are conveniently
arranged in order of size, the plot can be used to locate the upper and lower quartiles
and the median.
Notes
1. the median is the middle score or the average of the two middle scores
2. the lower quartile is the median of the lower half of the data
3. the upper quartile is the median of the upper half of the data.
Using the ‘possum’ mass data as an example:
Key: 0 | 7 = 0.7 kg
Stem
0
1
2
3
Leaf
7 9
1 4 5 6 7 8 8 9
1 2 2 3 3 5 7 7
0 2
The following data give the length of gestation in days
for 24 mothers. Prepare a stem-and-leaf plot of the data
using a class size of 5.
280 287 285 276 266 292
288 273 295 279 284 271
292 288 279 281 270 278
281 292 268 282 275 281
THINK WRITE
A group size of 5 is required. The smallest
piece of data is 266 and the largest is 295
so make the stems: 26*, 27, 27*, 28, 28*,
29, 29*.
The key should give a clear indication of
the meaning of each entry.
Enter the data piece by piece. Enter the
leaves in pencil at ﬁrst so that they can be
rearranged into order of size. Check that
24 pieces of data have been entered.
Now arrange the leaves in order of size. Key: 26* | 6 = 266 days
27 | 0 = 270 days
1
2
3
Stem
26*
27*
27*
28*
28*
29*
29*
Leaf
6 8
0 1 3
5 6 8 9 9
0 1 1 1 2 4
5 7 8 8
2 2 2
5
13WORKEDExample

There were 20 records so the median is the
average of the 10th and 11th scores. Counting
each score as it appeared in the stem-and-leaf
plot we can see that the 10th score is the
number 1.9 and the 11th score is the
number 2.1.
Median =
= 2.0 kg
The median divides the data into halves.
The lower quartile is the median of the lower half which has ten scores in it.
So the position of the lower quartile is given by the average of the 5th and 6th scores.
The 5th score is the number 1.5. The 6th score is the number 1.6.
The lower quartile =
= 1.55 kg
The upper quartile is the median of the upper half which also has ten scores in it.
The 5th score in this half is the number 2.3. The 6th score is the number 2.5.
The upper quartile =
= 2.4 kg
The interquartile range is the difference between the upper and lower quartiles.
1.9 2.1+
2
---------------------
1.5 1.6+
2
---------------------
2.3 2.5+
2
---------------------
Find the interquartile range of the data presented in the following stem-and-leaf plot.
Key: 15 | 7 = 157 kg
Stem
15
16
17
18
19
20
Leaf
4 8 8
1 3 3 6 8
0 0 1 4 7 9 9 9
1 2 3 3 5 7 8 8 9
2 7 8
0 2
THINK WRITE
There are 30 scores and so the median
will be the average of the 15th and 16th
scores.
Median =
Median = 179 kg
There are 15 scores in each half and so
the lower and upper quartiles will be
the 8th score in each half.
The lower quartile = 168 kg
The upper quartile = 188 kg
The interquartile range is the difference
between the upper and lower quartiles.
Note: Remember to provide appropriate
units for the answer.
Interquartile range = upper quartile − lower
quartile
= 188 − 168
= 20 kg
1
179 179+
2
------------------------
2
3
14WORKEDExample

Stem-and-leaf plots
1 The data below give the number of errors made each week by 20 machine operators.
Prepare a stem-and-leaf diagram of the data using a stem of 0, 1, 2, etc.
6 15 20 25 28 18 32 43 52 27
17 26 38 31 26 29 32 46 13 20
2 The data below give the time taken (in minutes) for each of 40 runners on a 10 km fun
run. Prepare a stem-and-leaf diagram for the data using a class size of 10 minutes.
36 42 52 38 47 59 72 68 57 82
66 75 45 42 55 38 42 46 48 39
42 58 40 41 47 53 68 43 39 48
71 42 50 46 40 52 37 54 48 52
3 The typing speed (in words per minute) of 30 word processors is recorded below.
Prepare a stem-and-leaf diagram of the data using a class size of 5.
96 102 92 96 95 102 95 115 110 108
88 86 107 111 107 108 103 121 107 96
124 95 98 102 108 112 120 99 121 130
4 Twenty transistors are tested by applying increasing voltage until they are destroyed.
The maximum voltage that each could withstand is recorded below. Prepare a stem-
and-leaf plot of the data using a class size of 0.5.
14.8 15.2 13.8 14.0 14.8 15.7 15.5 15.6 14.7 14.3
14.6 15.2 15.9 15.1 14.3 14.6 13.9 14.7 14.5 14.2
5 The stem-and-leaf plot at right gives the exact
mass of 24 packets of biscuits. Find the interquartile
range of the data.
remember
When presenting stem-and-leaf plots, observe the following points.
1. Always include a key to assist in the interpretation of the plot.
2. Choose a suitable class size. A class size of 5 is possible by using *notation on
class stems.
3. After initially recording each score, rearrange the leaves so that they appear in
ascending order.
remember
9F
WORKED
Example
12
WORKED
Example
13
WORKED
Example
14
Key: 248 | 4 = 248.4 g
Stem
248
249
250
251
252
253
Leaf
4 7 8
2 3 6 6
0 0 1 1 6 9 9
1 5 5 5 6 7
1 5 8
0

6 The time taken (in seconds) for a test vehicle to
accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h is recorded during
a test of 24 trials. The results are represented by
the stem-and-leaf plot at right.
a Find the median of the data.
b Find the upper and lower quartiles of the data.
c Find the interquartile range of the data.
Questions 7 to 10 refer to the stem-and-leaf plot below.
Key: 12 | 1 = 1210
Key: 12* | 5 = 1250
7
The class size used in the stem-and-leaf plot is:
8
The number of scores that have been recorded is:
9
The median of the data is:
10
The interquartile range of the data is:
11 The maximum hand spans (in cm) of 20 male concert pianists are recorded as follows.
23.6 20.2 22.8 21.4 25.1 24.8 23.2 21.6 20.7 23.6
22.8 24.6 21.8 22.8 23.1 24.6 21.7 24.7 22.2 23.0
a Complete a stem-and-leaf plot to represent the data.
b Find the median of the data.
c Find the upper and lower quartiles of the data.
d Find the interquartile range of the data.
Stem
12*
12*
13*
13*
14*
14*
Leaf
1 2 4
5 7 7 9 9
0 1 1 2 3 4 4
5 6 6 7 9 9
0 2 3 4
6 7
A 1 B 10 C 33 D 50
A 27 B 33 C 1210 D 1410
A 13.4 B 14 C 1335 D 1340
A 14 B 100 C 1290 D 1390
Key: 7 | 2 = 7.2 s
Key: 7* | 6 = 7.6 s
Stem
7*
7*
8*
8*
9*
9*
Leaf
2 4 4
5 5 7 9
0 0 1 2 4 4 4
5 5 6 8 9
2 2 3
5 7

12 The heights (in cm) of a sample of 30 plants are recorded as follows.
93 88 94 99 91 85 126 107 110 111
98 96 117 101 97 92 101 132 103 82
114 84 96 103 108 115 90 110 126 85
a Complete a stem-and-leaf plot to represent the data.
b Find the median of the data.
c Find the upper and lower quartiles of the data.
d Find the interquartile range of the data.
Boxplots (box-and-whisker plots)
In drawing a boxplot, five values are extracted from the data set. These values sum-
marise the data and hence attract the name of a five-number summary.
This five-number summary consists of:
• lower extreme — the lowest score in the data set
• lower quartile — the middle score of the lower half of the data set
• median — the middle score
• upper quartile — the middle score of the upper half of the data set
• upper extreme — the highest score in the data set.
Once a five-number summary has been developed, it can be graphed using a box-and-
whisker plot, a powerful way to display the spread of the data.
The box-and-whisker plot consists of a central divided box with attached whiskers.
The box spans the interquartile range, the vertical line inside the box marks the median
and the whiskers indicate the range. Each section of the boxplot represents one quarter
of the scores of the data set.
For the set of scores below, develop a five-number summary.
12 15 46 9 36 85 73 29 64 50
THINK WRITE
Re-write the list in ascending order. 9 12 15 29 36 46 50 64 73 85
Write the lowest score. Lower extreme = 9
Calculate the lower quartile. Lower quartile = 15
Calculate the median. Median =
= 41
Calculate the upper quartile. Upper quartile = 64
Write the upper extreme. Upper extreme = 85
Five-number summary = 9, 15, 41, 64, 85
1
2
3
4
36 46+
2
------------------
5
6
15WORKEDExample
Lower
extreme
Upper
extreme
Lower
quartile
Upper
quartile
Median
of scores
1–
4 of scores
1–
4
of scores
1–
4 of scores
1–
4

Box-and-whisker plots are always drawn to scale. This can be drawn with the ﬁve-
number summary attached as labels:
or with a scale presented alongside the box-and-whisker plot. (This representation is
preferable.)
4 28
15 21 23
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Scale
The box-and-whisker plot drawn at right
shows the marks achieved by students on
their end of year exam.
a State the median.
b Find the interquartile range.
c What was the highest mark in the class?
THINK WRITE
a The mark in the box shows the median
(72).
a Median = 72 marks
b The lower end of the box shows the
lower quartile (63).
b Lower quartile = 63 marks
The upper end of the box shows the
upper quartile (77).
Upper quartile = 77 marks
Subtract the lower quartile from the
upper quartile.
Interquartile range = 77 − 63
= 14 marks
c The top end of the whisker gives the top
mark (92).
c Top mark = 92 marks
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Marks achieved
70 80 90 100
1
2
3
16WORKEDExample
After analysing the speed (in km/h) of motorists through a particular intersection, the
following ﬁve-number summary was developed.
The lowest score is 82 km/h.
The lower quartile is 84 km/h.
The median is 89 km/h.
The upper quartile is 95 km/h.
The highest score is 114 km/h.
Show this information in a box-and-whisker plot.
Continued over page
17WORKEDExample

A graphics calculator can also be used to display data in the form of a boxplot.
THINK WRITE
Draw a scale from 70 to 120 using
1 cm = 10 km/h.
Draw the box from 84 to 95.
Mark the median at 89.
Draw the whiskers to 82 and 114.
1
70 80 90
Speed in km/h
100 110 120
2
3
4
Use a graphics calculator to draw a boxplot displaying the data below.
3 6 4 8 17 12 9 7 13 13 5 9 7 2 1 7 5 4 2
THINK DISPLAY
Clear any previous functions.
(a) Press .
(b) Press to clear any functions.
Enter data.
(a) Press [STAT PLOT].
(b) Highlight 4:Plots Off.
(c) Press .
(d) Enter the list in L1 (press , select
1:Edit... and press to access the
screen).
Draw the boxplot.
(a) Press [STAT PLOT] then select
1:Plot1.
(b) Press .
(c) Select Plot1, then On, then select the
5th icon along which indicates a boxplot;
then at Xlist: enter L1 (use [L1]),
and at Freq: enter 1.
(d) Press and select 9:ZoomStat.
(e) Press and the boxplot will
appear.
(f) Use the trace key to locate the minimum,
maximum and quartile values.
1
Y=
CLEAR
1 4
7
9 17
2
2nd
ENTER
STAT
ENTER
3
2nd
ENTER
2nd
ZOOM
ENTER
18WORKEDExample

Exploring boxplots
Boxplots provide a powerful tool for comparing sets of data. It is essential,
therefore, to understand and interpret correctly the shape of a boxplot.
Situation 1
Consider the following situation.
Ten randomly chosen students from Class X and Class Y each sit for a test where
the highest possible mark is 10. The results of the ten students from the two classes
are:
Class X: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Class Y: 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 9 10
Note that the range of the marks is the same in both class samples (1 to 10). In fact,
the two highest and two lowest marks are the same in both cases.
Determining the five-number summaries for both class samples shows:
Class X 1, 3, 5.5, 8, 10
Class Y 1, 2, 3.5, 5, 10
You should confirm these figures.
If a boxplot was drawn for each set of data and the two plots were shown on the
same scale, we would observe the following:
In interpreting the differences between the two plots, we must recall the following.
1. The boxplot is divided into four sections and each section represents one
quarter of the scores.
2. The median represents a score in the middle of the data.
3. A long ‘box’ or a long ‘whisker’ does not tell us that there are more scores in
that section. There is still one quarter of the scores in each whisker and one
half of the scores in the whole box. An increase in length indicates that the
scores are more spread out.
From the boxplots, answer the following questions:
1 The scores in the lower whisker of the Class X sample range from 1 to 3. What
is the range of scores for the lower whisker of the Class Y sample? How many
scores lie in each of these whiskers?
2 What is the range of scores in the upper whisker of the Class Y plot? How
many scores lie in this area? Why is the upper whisker longer than the lower
whisker?
3 It is true to say that three-quarters of the Class Y student sample performed
more poorly than half the student sample in Class X. Explain how the graph
shows this.
4 It is also true to say that more than half the student sample from Class X
performed as well as the top quarter of the student sample from Class Y.
Explain how the graph indicates this.
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Class Y
Class X

Five-number summaries and
boxplots
A graphics calculator can be used for many of the following.
1 Write a five-number summary for the data set below.
15 17 16 8 25 18 20 15 17 14
2 For each of the data sets below, write a five-number summary.
a 23 45 92 80 84 83 43 83
b 2 6 4 2 5 7 1
c 60 75 29 38 69 63 45 20 29 93 8 29 93
3 From the five-number summary 6, 11, 13, 16, 32 find:
a the median
b the interquartile range
c the range.
4 From the five-number summary 101, 119, 122, 125, 128 find:
a the median
b the interquartile range
c the range.
Situation 2
Ten randomly chosen students from Class Z sat for the same test with the following
results.
Class Z: 1 2 5 5 6 7 8 8 9 10
5 Determine the five-number summary for the Class Z sample.
6 Draw parallel boxplots of the three class samples, using the same horizontal
scale.
7 Write a report comparing the performances of the three classes on the test. You
must refer to specific data from the boxplots to support your conclusions.
remember
1. A five-number summary is a summary set for a distribution.
2. The five numbers used in a five-number summary are the lower extreme, lower
quartile, median, upper quartile and upper extreme.
3. A box-and-whisker plot can be used to graph a five-number summary.
4. The box is used to show the interquartile range and the median is marked with
a line in the box. The whiskers then extend to show the range of the data set.
remember
9G
WORKED
Example
15
EXCE
L Spreadshe
et
Interquartile
range
WORKED
Example
16

5 A ﬁve-number summary is given below.
Lower extreme = 39.2 Upper quartile = 52.3
Lower quartile = 46.5 Upper extreme = 57.8
Median = 49.0
Draw a box-and-whisker plot of the data.
6 The box-and-whisker plot at right shows the distribution of ﬁnal points scored by a
football team over a season’s roster.
a What was the team’s greatest points score?
b What was the team’s smallest points score?
c What was the team’s median points score?
d What was the range of points scored?
e What was the interquartile range of points scored?
7 The box-and-whisker plot at right shows the
distribution of data formed by counting the
number of honey bears in each of a large
sample of packs.
In any pack, what was:
a the largest number of honey bears?
b the smallest number of honey bears?
c the median number of honey bears?
d the range of numbers of honey bears?
e the interquartile range of honey bears?
Questions 8, 9 and 10 refer to the box-and-whisker plot drawn below.
8
The median of the data is:
A 20 B 23 C 35 D 31
WORKED
Example
17
E
XCEL Spread
sheet
Boxplots
50 70 90 110 130 150 Points
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 Scale
5 10 15 20 25 30 Scale

9
The interquartile range of the data is:
10
Which of the following is not true of the data represented by the box-and-whisker
plot?
A One-quarter of the scores is between 5 and 20.
B One-half of the scores is between 20 and 25.
C The lowest quarter of the data is spread over a wide range.
D Most of the data are contained between the scores of 5 and 20.
11 The number of sales made each day by a salesperson is recorded over a fortnight:
25, 31, 28, 43, 37, 43, 22, 45, 48, 33
a Write a five-number summary of the data.
b Draw a box-and-whisker plot of the data.
12 The data below show monthly rainfall in millimetres.
a Provide a five-number summary of the data.
b Draw a box-and-whisker plot of the data.
A 23 B 26 C 5 D 20 to 25
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
10 12 21 23 39 22 15 11 22 37 45 30
Drawing conclusions from the
bottled-water investigations
Having considered ways of collecting, organising and displaying data, it is now
appropriate that you should draw together all your results from your investigations
on bottled water and form them into a report. You have collected data through:
1. observation
2. survey and
3. taste testing.
1 Consider each activity separately. For each:
a define the AIM of the investigation
b outline the PROCEDURE undertaken
c present a table of your RESULTS (preferably on a spreadsheet)
d represent your data in an appropriate GRAPHICAL FORM (preferably
using a computer or graphics calculator)
e summarise and draw some CONCLUSIONS from your investigation.
2 Present your whole investigation as a report to the class.
GCpr
ogram
UV
statistics
Work
SHEET 9.2
inv
estigat
ioninv
estigat
ion

Classification of data
• Data can be classified as being categorical or numerical.
• Categorical data are data that are non-numerical. For example, a survey of car types
is not numerical.
• Numerical data are data that can be either counted or measured. For example a
survey of the daily temperature is numerical.
• Numerical data can be either discrete or continuous.
• Discrete data can take only certain values such as whole numbers.
• Continuous data can take any value within a certain range.
Collecting data
• Data can be collected by observation, survey or experiment.
• Observations can be made on categorical or numerical data.
• Surveys can be conducted through personal interview, telephone interview, or self-
administered questionnaire.
• Questionnaires require careful construction, particularly with question construction
and classification.
• Experiments must be capable of being reproduced for conclusions to be drawn.
• In all cases of collecting data, the quality of the data must be investigated before
any processing occurs.
Organising and displaying data
• Data are usually organised by first collating the records in the form of a table using
grouped or ungrouped data.
• Data are generally displayed graphically. Types of graphs include column, pie,
histogram, stem plots or boxplots.
Misrepresenting data graphically
• View graphical presentations carefully to detect signs of bias in impressions.
• Check that scales on both axes are linear and not lengthened or shortened.
• Check that picture graphs are not represented as volumes.
Histograms and frequency polygons
• Numerical data are best displayed by a frequency histogram and polygon.
• A frequency histogram is a column graph that is drawn with a 0.5-unit (half
column) space before the first column and no other spaces between the columns.
• A frequency polygon is drawn as a line graph from the corner of the axes to the
centre of each column.
Stem-and-leaf plot
• A stem-and-leaf plot is like a histogram on its side.
• The first part of the data forms the stem.
• The last part of the data forms the leaves.
• The data in the leaves must be in ascending order.
Boxplots (box-and-whisker plots)
• A five-number summary of a data set is the lower extreme, lower quartile, median,
upper quartile and upper extreme.
• A five-number summary can be graphed using a box-and-whisker plot.
• A box-and-whisker plot shows the spread of a data set on a scale.
summary

1 State whether each of the following data types is categorical or numerical.
a The television program that people watch at 7:00 pm
b The number of pets in each household
c The amount of water consumed by athletes in a marathon run
d The average distance that students live from school
e The mode of transport used between home and school
2 For each of the numerical data types below, determine if the data are discrete or continuous.
a The dress sizes of Year 11 girls
b The volume of backyard swimming pools
c The amount of water used in households
d The number of viewers of a particular television program
e The amount of time Year 11 students spent studying
3 Identify the areas of concern with the following questions, then rewrite each so that the
meaning is clear and understandable.
a Do you think that the school holidays are too long at Christmas time and that they
should be spread evenly over the year?
b Have you never said that you don’t like chocolate?
c Do you support the building of a fence around the duck pond to protect the poor
defenceless ducklings from the savage dogs in the area?
d Did you know that the BSSSS administer the QCS test?
e You support the police in their endeavour to reduce the road toll, don’t you?
4 A survey is conducted on the number of people living in each household in a street. The
results are shown below.
1 4 5 2 2 3 4 6 1 2 5
6 4 4 6 3 2 3 5 1 3 4
3 3 4 2 2
5 A group of Year 11 students was asked to state the number of CDs that they had purchased
in the last year. The results are shown below.
12 1 13 20 5 22 35 12 17 20
9 5 11 0 14 25 3 8 10 9
12 6 18 7 10 9 6 23 14 19
Put the results into a table using the categories 0–4, 5–9, 10–14 etc.
6 Draw a column and a sector graph to represent the results to question 4.
7 Draw a column and a sector graph to represent the results to question 5.
CHAPTER
review
9A
9A
9B
9C
9C
9C
9C

8 This table shows the number of students in each year level from Years 8 to 12.
Draw two separate graphs to illustrate the following:
a The principal of the school claims a high retention rate of students in Years 11 and 12
(that is, most of the students from Year 10 continue on to complete Years 11 and 12).
b The parents claim that the retention rate of students in Years 11 and 12 is low (that is, a
large number of students leave at the end of Year 10).
9 The table below shows the number of sales made each day over a month in a car yard.
Show this information in a frequency histogram and polygon.
10 The frequency table below shows the crowds at football matches for a team over a season.
11 Display the following scores in a stem-and-leaf plot.
45 21 38 46 42 41 42 49 35 29 24 28
36 21 38 45 44 40 29 28 35 35 33 38
40 41 48 39 34 38 45 28 23 29 30 40
12 Use the stem-and-leaf plot drawn in the previous question to ﬁnd:
a the range b the median c the interquartile range.
Year No. of students
8 200
9 189
10 175
11 133
12 124
Number of sales Frequency
0 2
1 5
2 12
3 6
4 2
5 0
6 1
Class Class centre Frequency
5000–9999 1
10 000–14 999 5
15 000–19 999 9
20 000–24 999 3
25 000–29 999 2
30 000–34 999 2
9D
9E
a Copy the frequency table
and complete the class
centre column.
b Show the information in a
frequency histogram and
polygon.
9E
9F
9F

13 For the data set below, give a ﬁve-number summary.
24 53 91 57 29 69 29 15 84 6
14 For the box-and-whisker plot
drawn at right:
a state the median
b calculate the range
c calculate the interquartile range.
15 The number of babies born each day at a hospital over a year is tabulated and the ﬁve-
number summary is given below.
Lower extreme = 1 Upper quartile = 16
Lower quartile = 8 Upper extreme = 18
Median = 14
Show this information in a box-and-whisker plot.
The stem-and-leaf plot below refers to questions 16 to 20. It represents the number of typing
errors recorded by a class of students in 1 page of typing.
16 How many students are in the class?
17 What is the median number of errors?
18 State the value of the lower quartile.
19 Determine the interquartile range.
20 Draw a boxplot of the data.
The box-and-whisker plots at right
refer to questions 21 to 25.
They show the sales of two different
brands of washing powder at a
supermarket each day.
21 State the range for Brand A.
22 State the interquartile range for Brand A.
23 State the range for Brand B.
24 State the interquartile range for Brand B.
25 Describe the spread of the sales for each brand of washing powder.
Key: 1 | 2 = 12 1* | 5 = 15
Stem
0*
0*
1*
1*
2*
Leaf
0 1 4
6 7 8 9
0 0 1 1 2 3 3 4
5 6 8 9
3
9G
9G
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
9G
10 15 20 25 30 350 5 40 Scale
Brand A
Brand B
45 50
testtest
CHAPTER
yyourselfourself
testyyourselfourself
9

Maths A - Chapter 9

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Similar to Maths A - Chapter 9

Recently uploaded

Maths A - Chapter 9