Back to homeMathematics · Secondary Year 3 · Change subject
Start for free
Secondary 3 · Mathematics
Statistics · Statistics

Representing Data

Before you start, make sure you know: Tables (Secondary Year 2 (first cycle))
Before you start, make sure you know: Percentages (Secondary Year 2 (first cycle))

At school, students are asked how they get to class: guagua, motoconcho, on foot, by car... With 600 answers in a list, nobody can make sense of anything. How do you turn them into a picture that can be read at a glance? And which graph fits each type of data? We'll answer that on this page.

Type of variable and type of graph

Before drawing, you need to know what kind of data you have, because the graph depends on it.

  • Qualitative: a quality (favorite social network, color, movie genre).

  • Discrete quantitative: a number that takes only separate values (siblings, absences, goals).

  • Continuous quantitative: a number that can take any value in an interval (height, time, weight). It is usually grouped into intervals.

Practice★☆☆Not started
Classify the following statistical variables obtained from a survey conducted in a school, stating whether they are qualitative or quantitative (in the latter case,…

Classify the following statistical variables obtained from a survey conducted in a school, stating whether they are qualitative or quantitative (in the latter case, specify whether they are discrete or continuous):

  1. a) The name of each student's favorite social network.
  2. b) The number of hours per week they spend playing video games.
  3. c) The height, measured in meters, of the basketball team players.
  4. d) The number of siblings each student in a class has.
Solve

Bar chart

It is used for qualitative or discrete quantitative variables. Each value has a bar whose height is its frequency. The bars are separated.

Bar chart with separated columns representing the number of movie visits and their frequency. 01234 48 times at the movies (f)

To build it: first count the data and make the frequency table. Remember that the relative frequency is $h_i = \dfrac{f_i}{N}$ and that all the $h_i$ add up to $1$ (or $100\%$ if you convert them to percentages). Then draw one bar per value.

Practice★☆☆Not started
A group of $20$ teenagers answered what their favorite movie genre is. The results are: Action, Comedy, Horror, Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Action, Action, Comedy,…

A group of $20$ teenagers answered what their favorite movie genre is. The results are:

Action, Comedy, Horror, Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Action, Action, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy, Horror, Action, Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Action.

Create a frequency table that includes the absolute frequency ($n_i$) and draw a bar graph to represent these data clearly.

0 2 4 6 8 Frequency (nᵢ) 8 5 4 3 Action Comedy Horror Sci-Fi Movie Genre
Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
Complete the following partial frequency table on the number of times a group of friends went to the cinema in the last month: | Films ($x_i$) | Absolute frequency…

Complete the following partial frequency table on the number of times a group of friends went to the cinema in the last month:

Films ($x_i$) Absolute frequency ($n_i$) Relative frequency ($h_i$) Percentage ($\%$)
$0$ $4$ $0.20$ $20\%$
$1$ $8$
$2$ $5$ $0.25$
$3$ $0.15$ $15\%$
Total $20$ $1.00$ $100\%$
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A group of 30 teenagers has recorded how many hours per week they spend watching series on streaming* platforms. The data obtained are:…

A group of 30 teenagers has recorded how many hours per week they spend watching series on streaming platforms. The data obtained are:

$4, 7, 5, 8, 10, 4, 6, 7, 5, 9, 12, 6, 8, 7, 5, 4, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 9, 11, 4, 7, 6, 5, 8, 7, 6$.

  1. a) Classify the statistical variable.
  1. b) Make a frequency table that includes the absolute frequency ($f_i$) and the relative frequency ($h_i$).
  1. c) Represent the data using a bar chart.

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve

Histogram

It is for data grouped into intervals (continuous variables). It is like a bar chart, but the bars are touching, because the intervals are consecutive, and the base of each bar is the interval.

Steps to group and draw:

  1. Find the range (largest minus smallest) and choose intervals of the same width, like $[5, 10), [10, 15), \dots$ (the left endpoint is included and the right one is not).

  2. Count how many data values fall in each interval: that is its frequency $f_i$.

  3. Calculate the class mark, the midpoint of the interval: for $[10, 15)$ it is $\dfrac{10+15}{2} = 12.5$.

  4. Draw one bar per interval with height $f_i$.

Practice★☆☆Not started
The time (in minutes) taken by $15$ students to get from home to school has been recorded. The data are as follows:…

The time (in minutes) taken by $15$ students to get from home to school has been recorded. The data are as follows:

$12, 15, 8, 22, 10, 14, 18, 25, 11, 13, 20, 9, 15, 12, 17$.

Group these data in a frequency table using class intervals of width $5$, starting at $5$. That is: $[5, 10), [10, 15), \dots$

Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
From the following interval table, draw the corresponding frequency histogram. Make sure the bars touch each other to indicate that the variable is continuous. |…

From the following interval table, draw the corresponding frequency histogram. Make sure the bars touch each other to indicate that the variable is continuous.

Interval Frequency ($f_i$)
$[5, 10)$ 2
$[10, 15)$ 5
$[15, 20)$ 8
$[20, 25)$ 6
$[25, 30)$ 3

You can do it on paper and upload a photo with your answer.

Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
An athletics club has recorded the times (in seconds) of its members in a 400-meter sprint race. As it is a continuous variable, they have been grouped into the…

An athletics club has recorded the times (in seconds) of its members in a 400-meter sprint race. As it is a continuous variable, they have been grouped into the following intervals: $[50, 55), [55, 60), [60, 65), [65, 70)$. The absolute frequencies are $4, 12, 18$ and $6$ respectively.

  1. a) Construct the frequency table including the class mark for each interval.
  2. b) Draw the frequency histogram.
  3. c) What percentage of athletes took less than one minute ($60$ seconds) to complete the race?
Solve

Intervals of different widths

If all the intervals have the same width, the height can be the frequency. If they don't, the height must be the frequency density:

$$\text{density} = \frac{f_i}{\text{width}}$$

This way the area of each bar (base × height) is the frequency. If you don't do this, the widest interval looks like it has more data than it really does.

For example, $10$ data values in $[0, 5)$ and $10$ data values in $[5, 15)$ have the same frequency. The heights are $\frac{10}{5} = 2$ and $\frac{10}{10} = 1$. The second rectangle is shorter but twice as wide: the areas match.

You can also draw a histogram of relative frequencies. If all the widths are equal, the height can be $h_i$. If the widths are different, the height must be the relative density, $\dfrac{h_i}{\text{width}}$: that way the area of each bar is $h_i$ and the total area equals $1$.

Practice★★☆Not started
In a quality control test at a smart light bulb factory, the lifespan (in thousands of hours) of a sample of $100$ units was measured. It is known that: $20\%$ lasted…

In a quality control test at a smart light bulb factory, the lifespan (in thousands of hours) of a sample of $100$ units was measured. It is known that:

  • $20\%$ lasted between $10$ and $15$ thousand hours.

  • $50\%$ lasted between $15$ and $20$ thousand hours.

  • The rest lasted between $20$ and $25$ thousand hours.

  1. a) Construct the table of absolute and relative frequencies.
  2. b) Represent the relative frequency histogram. What does the area of each rectangle represent in this case?
  3. c) If a light bulb is considered "excellent" if it lasts more than $20$ thousand hours, how many light bulbs in the sample are excellent?

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve
Practice★★★Not started
Look at the following histogram representing the resting heart rates of a group of athletes. Note that the intervals do not have the same width. In this type of chart,…

Look at the following histogram representing the resting heart rates of a group of athletes. Note that the intervals do not have the same width.

10 20 40 5 40 50 60 70 80 90 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 Heart rate (bpm) Density

In this type of chart, the frequency is proportional to the area of the bar, not its height. If in the interval $[40, 50)$ there are $10$ athletes:

  1. a) How many athletes are there in total in the study?
  2. b) Construct the grouped frequency table using the intervals shown, stating the class mark for each one.

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve

Frequency polygon

The frequency polygon joins with segments the midpoints of the top of each bar, that is, the points (class mark, frequency). To close it, endpoints with frequency $0$ are added on both sides.

Histogram with touching bars organized by class intervals and a frequency polygon overlaid joining the midpoints. 010203040 frequencypolygon time to get to school (min)

If the data are discrete, the polygon joins the tops of the bars. To read it backward: the values on the $X$ axis are class marks, and the endpoints of each interval are found by adding and subtracting half the width. With class mark $12$ and width $4$, the interval is $[10, 14)$.

Practice★★☆Not started
The backpacks of 40 students were weighed at the entrance of the school for a health study. The results have been organized in the following table: | Weight (kg) |…

The backpacks of 40 students were weighed at the entrance of the school for a health study. The results have been organized in the following table:

Weight (kg) $[0, 2)$ $[2, 4)$ $[4, 6)$ $[6, 8)$ $[8, 10]$
Students ($f_i$) $3$ $8$ $15$ $10$ $4$
  1. a) Draw the frequency histogram.
  1. b) On the same graph, draw the frequency polygon.
  1. c) How many students carry a backpack that weighs $6$ kg or more? Calculate the relative frequency of this group (the fraction of the total that it represents), expressed as a decimal.

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
In the Language exam, the grades obtained by a 3rd year ESO class were as follows: Grades: $3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10$. a) Create a frequency…

In the Language exam, the grades obtained by a 3rd year ESO class were as follows:

Grades: $3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10$.

  1. a) Create a frequency table with the absolute frequencies ($f_i$) and the cumulative absolute frequencies ($F_i$).
  1. b) Draw the bar chart of the grades and, from it, the absolute frequency polygon (join the highest points of the bars with line segments).
  1. c) Looking at the polygon, between which grades does the frequency increase, and by how much does it increase in each section?

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A weather station has recorded the maximum temperatures during the month of November. By grouping the data into intervals, the following frequency polygon was obtained:…

A weather station has recorded the maximum temperatures during the month of November. By grouping the data into intervals, the following frequency polygon was obtained:

Temperature (ºC) Frequency 6 10 14 18 22 26 0 2 4 6 8 10 3 9 6 2

The values on the $X$-axis are the class marks of intervals with width $4^\circ\text{C}$.

  1. a) Determine the temperature intervals that have been used.
  2. b) Given that the points represent the absolute frequency ($f_i$), how many days were there in November according to this record? Is the total number of days correct?
  3. c) In which temperature interval is the mode?
Solve

Pie chart

Also called a circle graph or sector graph. It is used to see what part of the total each value represents, especially for qualitative variables. Each sector has an angle proportional to its frequency:

$$\text{angle} = h_i \times 360^\circ = \frac{f_i}{N} \times 360^\circ$$ Pie chart showing the percentage and degrees of each means of transportation to school. ■ guagua: 40% → 144° ■ on foot: 25% → 90° ■ car: 20% → 72° ■ bicycle: 15% → 54° 144 + 90 + 72 + 54 = 360°
Practice★☆☆Not started
The following circle graph shows the distribution of the $400$ students at a school according to the extracurricular language they have chosen to study. Look at the…

The following circle graph shows the distribution of the $400$ students at a school according to the extracurricular language they have chosen to study. Look at the graph and answer:

  1. a) What percentage of students study German?
  2. b) How many students in total study English?
  3. c) Which is the least popular language?
50% 25% 15% 10% English French German Chinese
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A study was carried out on the mode of transportation used by students at a high school to get to school. The results are shown in the following circle graph, but some…

A study was carried out on the mode of transportation used by students at a high school to get to school. The results are shown in the following circle graph, but some data have been erased:

  • The "Walking" sector has an angle of $144^\circ$.

  • The "Bus" sector represents $25\%$ of the students.

  • The rest of the students travel by "Bicycle".

  1. a) Calculate the percentage of students who walk.
  2. b) Determine the angle in degrees corresponding to the "Bus" sector and the "Bicycle" sector.
  3. c) If there are 600 students in the school, how many travel by each mode of transportation?
Total: 600 alumnos Bus 25% Walking 144° Bicycle ? 25% 144° ?
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
The following circle graph shows the distribution of the types of waste collected during a school recycling campaign. It is known that a total of $180$ kg of waste was…

The following circle graph shows the distribution of the types of waste collected during a school recycling campaign. It is known that a total of $180$ kg of waste was collected.

120º 180º 60º Paper Plastic Glass
  1. a) Calculate the angle corresponding to the "Plastic" sector.
  2. b) Calculate how many kilograms of each type of waste were collected.
  3. c) If next year the amount of glass is expected to double while keeping the total waste constant, how would the angle of the paper sector change?
Solve

Line graph

The line graph shows how something changes over time (followers per month, temperature per day). The points are marked and joined with segments. If you draw two series on the same graph, use a different color or a dashed line for each one: that way you can compare which one rises more and which is more stable.

Line graph with points joined by segments to show a trend over time. JanFebMarAprMayJun followers (thousands) 246
Practice★☆☆Not started
An "influencer" has recorded the number of new followers gained each day over a week: Monday:* $120$, Tuesday:* $150$, Wednesday:* $130$, Thursday:* $180$, Friday:*…

An "influencer" has recorded the number of new followers gained each day over a week:

Monday: $120$, Tuesday: $150$, Wednesday: $130$, Thursday: $180$, Friday: $210$, Saturday: $250$, Sunday: $230$.

Represent this trend using a frequency polygon. To do so, place the points on a coordinate axis (Day, Followers) and join them with straight line segments.

Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
An influencer analyzes the growth of their followers on two different social networks over the last 5 months. The data (in thousands of new followers per month) are:…

An influencer analyzes the growth of their followers on two different social networks over the last 5 months. The data (in thousands of new followers per month) are:

  • Network A: $2, 5, 8, 12, 15$

  • Network B: $6, 7, 6, 8, 7$

  1. a) Represent both series of data on the same line graph (frequency polygon). Use a different color for each network or a dashed line for one of them.
  2. b) Explain, based on the shape of the graphs, which of the two social networks has more stable growth and which has a clearer upward trend.
Solve

Cumulative frequencies and the ogive

The cumulative frequency $F_i$ adds up the frequencies up to that value or interval. The cumulative relative frequency is $H_i = \dfrac{F_i}{N}$ and always ends at $1$. If you know $H_i$ and $N$, you can recover everything: $F_i = H_i \cdot N$ and $f_i = F_i - F_{i-1}$.

The ogive is the graph of the cumulative frequencies of grouped data. You mark the points (upper endpoint of the interval, cumulative frequency) and join them with segments. It starts at $0$ at the lower endpoint of the first interval.

For example, with $[0, 10)$, $[10, 20)$, and $[20, 30)$ and frequencies $5, 10, 5$ ($N = 20$): $H_i = 0.25,\ 0.75,\ 1$.

Ogive: an increasing line joining the cumulative relative frequencies at the upper endpoints of the intervals. 0102030 0.250.751

With the ogive you can estimate what percentage of the data lies below a value: go up from that value on the $X$ axis to the line and read the height.

Practice★★☆Not started
The environmental department of a local municipality wants to represent the monthly water consumption of families in a neighborhood. They have collected the data from…

The environmental department of a local municipality wants to represent the monthly water consumption of families in a neighborhood. They have collected the data from the latest bill and classified them in cubic meters ($m^3$):

Consumption ($m^3$) $[0, 10)$ $[10, 20)$ $[20, 30)$ $[30, 40)$
Families ($f_i$) $15$ $45$ $30$ $10$
  1. a) Calculate the cumulative relative frequency ($H_i$) for each interval.
  2. b) Represent the data on a cumulative frequency graph (or ogive).
  3. c) If the municipality decides to give a discount to families who consume less than $20 m^3$, what percentage of the neighborhood's population will benefit from this measure?
Discount < 20 m³ Consumption (m³) Hᵢ (%) 0 10 30 40 20 40 80 100 20 60 15% 90% 100%
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A soft drinks brand has carried out a study on how many cans a week a group of teenagers consumes. However, the frequency table got stained and only some of the…

A soft drinks brand has carried out a study on how many cans a week a group of teenagers consumes. However, the frequency table got stained and only some of the cumulative relative frequency values ($H_i$) can be read:

Cans ($x_i$) Absolute Freq. ($f_i$) Cum. Relative Freq. ($H_i$)
0 $0.15$
1 $12$
2 $0.65$
3 $0.85$
4 $6$ $1.00$

Given that the sample size is $40$ individuals:

  1. a) Reconstruct the complete frequency table (calculating $f_i$, $F_i$, $n_i$ and $H_i$).
  2. b) Represent the data using a cumulative frequency polygon.

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve

Box plot

The box-and-whisker plot summarizes the data with five numbers: minimum, $Q_1$, median, $Q_3$, and maximum. The box goes from $Q_1$ to $Q_3$ (it contains the middle $50\%$ of the data) and the little lines or "whiskers" reach the extreme values.

Two measures of spread that can be read from it:

  • Range: $\text{maximum} - \text{minimum}$.

  • Interquartile range: $\text{IQR} = Q_3 - Q_1$, the width of the box.

A value is an outlier if it lies outside $[\,Q_1 - 1.5\cdot\text{IQR},\ Q_3 + 1.5\cdot\text{IQR}\,]$. Outliers are marked with a dot, and the whiskers reach only to the most extreme data value that is not an outlier.

Box-and-whisker plot with minimum 4, first quartile 6.5, median 8.5, third quartile 11, whisker up to 12, and an outlier at 30. 48.51230 outlier cell phone minutes

You can change the data and see how the measures move:

Practice★★★Not started
A social media content creator analyses the duration (in seconds) of their latest videos. The data obtained are: $15, 42, 55, 12, 18, 30, 45, 95, 110, 20, 35, 48$. a)…

A social media content creator analyses the duration (in seconds) of their latest videos. The data obtained are: $15, 42, 55, 12, 18, 30, 45, 95, 110, 20, 35, 48$.

  1. a) Calculate the interquartile range and identify whether there are any outliers (those located at a distance greater than $1.5 \times \text{IQR}$ from the quartiles).
  2. b) Draw the box-and-whisker plot, clearly highlighting any outliers with a prominent dot, if there are any.
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
Two groups of 3rd ESO students have recorded the daily time (in minutes) they spend playing video games. The results are shown in the following box plots. Analyse the…

Two groups of 3rd ESO students have recorded the daily time (in minutes) they spend playing video games. The results are shown in the following box plots.

0 60 120 180 240 Time (minutes) Group A Group B

Analyse the graphs and answer with reasons:

  1. a) What is the maximum gaming time in Group B? And what is the value of the upper quartile ($Q_3$) in Group A?
  2. b) In which group are the data more spread out? Use the range and the interquartile range to justify your answer.
  3. c) If a student claims that $75\%$ of Group B students play for longer than the median of Group A, are they correct? Why?
Solve

Choosing well and not being fooled

The table summarizes which graph to use:

I want to show… Graph
Frequencies of single values or categories Bar chart
Data in intervals Histogram (and polygon)
Parts of a total Pie chart
Change over time Line graph
Percentage of data below a value Ogive
Median, spread, and outliers, or comparing groups Box-and-whisker plot

A graph can also mislead. The most common trick is a vertical axis that doesn't start at zero. Example: the sales of a corner store go from $80$ to $90$ (a real increase of $12.5\%$). If the axis starts at $70$, the first bar measures $10$ and the second $20$: it looks like sales doubled ($+100\%$).

Representative sample. To survey a large population, you take a sample. In stratified sampling the population is divided into groups (strata) and a proportional part is taken from each one:

$$n_{\text{stratum}} = n \cdot \frac{N_{\text{stratum}}}{N}$$

For example, a school with $800$ students in the morning session and $400$ in the afternoon session, with a sample of $60$: morning $60 \cdot \frac{800}{1200} = 40$ and afternoon $60 \cdot \frac{400}{1200} = 20$.

Practice★☆☆Not started
State which type of statistical graph is the most suitable (Bar graph, Histogram, or Circle graph) to represent the following situations: a) We want to compare the…

State which type of statistical graph is the most suitable (Bar graph, Histogram, or Circle graph) to represent the following situations:

  1. a) We want to compare the percentage of glass, paper, and plastic recycling in a neighborhood.
  2. b) We want to show the number of absences for each student in a class (from $0$ to $5$ absences).
  3. c) We want to represent the weights of newborn babies in a hospital over a month (data grouped into intervals).
  4. d) We want to compare the preferences for $4$ different brands of soft drinks among young people in a town.
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A graph has been published in a news story about the increase in rental prices in a city. Some critics say the graph is misleading because the y-axis does not start at…

A graph has been published in a news story about the increase in rental prices in a city. Some critics say the graph is misleading because the y-axis does not start at zero.

Bar chart with two bars showing the rental price: €800 in 2022 and €900 in 2024, with the vertical axis between €750 and €950 RD$750 RD$800 RD$850 RD$900 RD$950 Year 2022 Year 2024 RD$800 RD$900
  1. a) According to the graph, what percentage increase does there visually appear to be when comparing the height of the bars (measured from the horizontal axis)?
  1. b) Calculate the actual percentage increase in the rental price between the year 2022 ($800$ pesos) and 2024 ($900$ pesos).
  1. c) Mentally redraw (or describe) how the perception of the increase would change if the $Y$ axis started at $0$ pesos.
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A local municipality wants to know young people's opinions on the new skate parks. The total population is $12,000$ young people, split across three neighborhoods:…

A local municipality wants to know young people's opinions on the new skate parks. The total population is $12,000$ young people, split across three neighborhoods: Center ($5,000$), North ($4,000$) and South ($3,000$). They decide to take a representative sample of $600$ individuals using stratified random sampling.

  1. a) How many young people from each neighborhood should be selected for the sample to be representative?
  2. b) After conducting the survey, $40\%$ in the Center, $60\%$ in the North and $30\%$ in the South are found to be "Very satisfied". Represent these satisfaction results using a dual bar chart (side-by-side bar chart).
Solve

Back to the beginning: for the 600 answers about how students get to school, since transportation is qualitative and we want to see the parts of a total, the best choice is a pie chart (or a bar chart if you want to compare precisely). Each angle comes from $h_i \times 360^\circ$.

Summary

See all the exercises in this section