Back to homeMathematics · Secondary Year 2 · Change subject
Start for free
Secondary 2 · Mathematics
Statistics · Statistics

Frequency Tables

Before you start, make sure you know: Tables (Secondary Year 1)
Before you start, make sure you know: Percents (Secondary Year 1)

You asked 20 classmates in your class how many pets they have at home, and now you have 20 jumbled numbers in your notebook. This way nothing makes sense: the first step is to sort and count, that is, to build a frequency table. At the end of the page you'll see what the pet table tells us.

Population, Sample, and Types of Variables

Before counting, you need to know who we asked and what we asked.

For example, if a secondary school in Mexico City has 1,200 students and you ask 80 randomly chosen students about their favorite book, the population is the 1,200 students, the sample is the 80, and each student is an individual.

Practice★☆☆Not started
A study is to be conducted to find out the favorite book of the $1\,200$ students at a middle school in Mexico City. To do this, $80$ students are chosen at random and…

A study is to be conducted to find out the favorite book of the $1\,200$ students at a middle school in Mexico City. To do this, $80$ students are chosen at random and asked for the title of the book they liked most this year.

Identify the following elements of this statistical study:

  • Population

  • Sample

  • Individual

Population 1.200 students Sample 80 students Individual 1 student
Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
Classify the following statistical variables as qualitative or quantitative. For those that are quantitative, state whether they are discrete or continuous: a) Your…

Classify the following statistical variables as qualitative or quantitative. For those that are quantitative, state whether they are discrete or continuous:

  1. a) Your classmates' favorite color.
  2. b) The number of WhatsApp messages you receive per day.
  3. c) The exact height of the players on a basketball team.
  4. d) The phone model used by teachers at the school.
  5. e) The number of siblings of 2nd ESO students.
Solve

Absolute, Relative, and Cumulative Frequency

Practice★☆☆Not started
A group of friends recorded the number of times they went to the cinema in the last month. The results obtained are: $2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0, 2, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 1$…

A group of friends recorded the number of times they went to the cinema in the last month. The results obtained are:

$2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0, 2, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2, 1$

Organise these data into a frequency table including the frequency ($n_i$) for each value of the variable.

Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
In a survey on the favorite social network of $20$ teenagers, the following frequency results were obtained: | Social Network | Frequency ($n_i$) | | :--- | :---: | |…

In a survey on the favorite social network of $20$ teenagers, the following frequency results were obtained:

Social Network Frequency ($n_i$)
TikTok $10$
Instagram $6$
YouTube $3$
Others $1$
Total $20$

Calculate the relative frequency ($f_i$) and percentage ($\%$) for each category.

Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
The following table shows the number of pets that the families in a housing development have. Complete the column of cumulative absolute frequencies ($N_i$): | Nº of…

The following table shows the number of pets that the families in a housing development have. Complete the column of cumulative absolute frequencies ($N_i$):

Nº of pets ($x_i$) Absolute frequency ($n_i$) Cumulative frequency ($N_i$)
$0$ $8$
$1$ $12$
$2$ $7$
$3$ $3$
Total $30$ ---

Hint. The cumulative frequency of each row is the sum of its absolute frequency and the cumulative frequency of the previous row. The first row carries over directly: $N_1 = n_1$. The last cumulative frequency must match the total.

Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
Students in a class were asked how many hours on average they spend studying per day. Some data in the table have been lost. Complete it knowing that the total number of…

Students in a class were asked how many hours on average they spend studying per day. Some data in the table have been lost. Complete it knowing that the total number of students is $25$.

Hours of study ($x_i$) Frequency ($n_i$) Relative frequency ($f_i$)
$1$ h $5$ $0.20$
$2$ h $0.40$
$3$ h $6$
$4$ h $4$ $0.16$
Total $25$ $1$
Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
Look at the following frequency table showing the shoe size of a group of $10$ friends and answer the questions: | Size ($x_i$) | Frequency ($n_i$) | Cumulative…

Look at the following frequency table showing the shoe size of a group of $10$ friends and answer the questions:

Size ($x_i$) Frequency ($n_i$) Cumulative frequency ($N_i$)
$36$ $1$ $1$
$37$ $2$ $3$
$38$ $4$ $7$
$39$ $3$ $10$
  1. a) How many people wear a shoe size smaller than $38$?
  2. b) What percentage of people wear size $39$?
  3. c) What is the most common size (the one with the highest frequency)?
Solve
Practice★☆☆Not started
For a study on eating habits, the following qualitative data were collected on the type of fruit eaten for an afternoon snack by $25$ children at a camp: Apple, Banana,…

For a study on eating habits, the following qualitative data were collected on the type of fruit eaten for an afternoon snack by $25$ children at a camp:

Apple, Banana, Pear, Apple, Orange, Banana, Apple, Pear, Banana, Apple, Orange, Apple, Pear, Apple, Banana, Orange, Apple, Banana, Pear, Apple, Orange, Apple, Banana, Apple, Pear.

Construct a complete frequency table including: Variable ($x_i$), Frequency ($n_i$), Relative frequency ($f_i$) and Percentage ($\%$).

Fruta xᵢ Frec. Abs. nᵢ Frec. Rel. fᵢ Porcentaje % Apple Banana Pear Orange Total

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

Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A group of 20 teenagers recorded how many hours a week they spend watching series on streaming platforms. The data obtained is as follows:…

A group of 20 teenagers recorded how many hours a week they spend watching series on streaming platforms. The data obtained is as follows:

$5, 8, 12, 5, 10, 15, 8, 8, 10, 12, 15, 5, 8, 10, 12, 8, 10, 12, 10, 8$.

Organise this data in a frequency table that includes:

  • Absolute frequency ($n_i$).

  • Relative frequency ($f_i$).

  • Percentage ($\%$).

n = 20 5 8 12 5 10 15 8 8 10 12 15 5 8 10 12 8 10 12 10 8 Values (xᵢ) x₁ = 5 x₂ = 8 x₃ = 10 x₄ = 12 x₅ = 15
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
In a survey on the number of pets owned by families in a 9th grade class, the following incomplete table was produced. Complete it in your notebook knowing that the…

In a survey on the number of pets owned by families in a 9th grade class, the following incomplete table was produced. Complete it in your notebook knowing that the total number of students is $30$.

Pets ($x_i$) Abs. frequency ($n_i$) Cum. absolute frequency ($N_i$) Cum. relative frequency ($H_i$)
0 12
1 9
2 26
3 4

What percentage of students have at most one pet?

Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
In a local video game tournament, the ages of the participants have been recorded. Look at the relative frequency table and answer: | Age | Relative frequency ($f_i$) |…

In a local video game tournament, the ages of the participants have been recorded. Look at the relative frequency table and answer:

Age Relative frequency ($f_i$)
12 years old $0.15$
13 years old $0.35$
14 years old $0.30$
15 years old $0.20$

If a total of $120$ people took part in the tournament:

  1. a) How many participants are exactly $13$ years old?
  2. b) How many participants are over $13$ years old?
Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A youth clothing shop wants to analyse the number of items of clothing each customer buys. It is known that the cumulative relative frequency ($H_i$) for buying $2$…

A youth clothing shop wants to analyse the number of items of clothing each customer buys. It is known that the cumulative relative frequency ($H_i$) for buying $2$ items is $0.75$. If $160$ customers have been analysed:

  1. a) How many customers bought $2$ items or fewer?
  2. b) If the frequency of buying just $1$ item is $60$ customers, how many customers bought exactly $2$ items?
Solve

Completing Tables with Missing Data

Often the table comes incomplete. You solve it with the relationships: $f_i = n_i/N$, $N_i = N_{i-1} + n_i$, $n_i = f_i \times N$, and the total is $N$.

Practice★★★Not started
Analyze the following frequency table corresponding to the number of absences of a class of $25$ students during one month. Find the two logical consistency errors in…

Analyze the following frequency table corresponding to the number of absences of a class of $25$ students during one month. Find the two logical consistency errors in the cumulative frequency columns ($N_i$ and $F_i$) and justify why they are errors based on the properties of frequency tables.

Absences ($x_i$) $n_i$ $f_i$ $N_i$ $F_i$
$0$ $10$ $0.40$ $10$ $0.40$
$1$ $6$ $0.24$ $16$ $0.64$
$2$ $5$ $0.20$ $14$ $0.84$
$3$ $4$ $0.16$ $25$ $1.05$
Solve

Mode and Mean from a Table

A frequency table can also give you values that summarize the group, without rewriting all the data.

Why? Adding up the data one by one is the same as adding each value as many times as it appears: the 2 that appears 5 times contributes $2 \times 5$ to the sum.

In the pet table, the mode is $1$ (it appears 9 times) and the mean is $\dfrac{0\cdot5 + 1\cdot9 + 2\cdot5 + 3\cdot1}{20} = \dfrac{22}{20} = 1.1$ pets.

Practice★★★Not started
A survey on the number of books read in the past year was carried out among a group of people. It is known that the mode is $3$ books and that the arithmetic mean is…

A survey on the number of books read in the past year was carried out among a group of people. It is known that the mode is $3$ books and that the arithmetic mean is exactly $2.5$ books. Using the data in the incomplete table, find the values of $x$ and $y$ (absolute frequencies).

Books read ($x_i$) $n_i$
$1$ $5$
$2$ $x$
$3$ $y$
$4$ $3$
TOTAL $20$
Solve

Grouped Data in Intervals

When the variable is continuous (time, height…) or has many different values, the data are grouped into intervals of the form $[a, b)$: it includes $a$ and does not include $b$.

Histogram of the time in minutes to get to school: four intervals from 0 to 40 with frequencies 4, 12, 7, and 2 and class marks at 5, 15, 25, and 35. 41272 010203040 mark 5mark 15mark 25mark 35 ni above each bar
Practice★★☆Not started
A study has been carried out on the distance (in km) that $40$ people travel to get to their workplace. The data have been grouped into the following intervals:…

A study has been carried out on the distance (in km) that $40$ people travel to get to their workplace. The data have been grouped into the following intervals: $[0, 4)$, $[4, 8)$, $[8, 12)$ and $[12, 16)$.

Given that the absolute frequencies are $14$, $10$, $8$ and $8$ respectively:

  1. a) Construct the frequency table including the class mark ($c_i$) of each interval.
  1. b) How many people travel $8$ km or more?

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

Solve
Practice★★★Not started
In a study on cell phone data usage of a group of teenagers, work has started on the following frequency table. However, some data has been lost. Given that the sample…

In a study on cell phone data usage of a group of teenagers, work has started on the following frequency table. However, some data has been lost. Given that the sample size is $N = 80$ individuals and that the cumulative relative frequency of the third interval is $F_3 = 0.825$, complete the table for absolute frequency ($n_i$), relative frequency ($f_i$), cumulative absolute frequency ($N_i$) and cumulative relative frequency ($F_i$).

Data usage (GB) $n_i$ $f_i$ $N_i$ $F_i$
$[0, 5)$ $12$
$[5, 10)$ $0.35$
$[10, 15)$
$[15, 20]$
Data usage (GB) nᵢ fᵢ Nᵢ Fᵢ [0, 5) 12 [5, 10) 0.35 [10, 15) 0.825 [15, 20] Total N = 80 1.00 - - ÷ 80 × 80 × 80
Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A municipality wants to analyze the age of young people using the new bike lane. It is known that the variable is continuous quantitative and the data has been grouped…

A municipality wants to analyze the age of young people using the new bike lane. It is known that the variable is continuous quantitative and the data has been grouped into five intervals of constant width. Complete the table knowing that:

  • The total age range is from $10$ to $30$ years.

  • The absolute frequency of the second interval is twice that of the first.

  • $N_3 = 45$

  • $f_4 = 0.25$

  • $n_5 = 5$

  • The total sample size is $N = 60$.

Also state the class midpoints ($x_i$) for each interval.

Solve
Practice★★★Not started
In an esports club, the weekly training hours of its 40 members have been recorded. They have been organised into four class intervals: $[0, 4), [4, 8), [8, 12)$ and…

In an esports club, the weekly training hours of its 40 members have been recorded. They have been organised into four class intervals: $[0, 4), [4, 8), [8, 12)$ and $[12, 16]$.

The following data are known:

  1. The relative frequencies of the first two intervals are identical: $f_1 = f_2$.

  2. The cumulative relative frequency of the second interval is $F_2 = 0.5$.

  3. The last interval has an absolute frequency of $n_4 = 4$.

Deduce the complete table of absolute and relative frequencies. How many players train for at least $8$ hours a week?

Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A Physical Education teacher records the time (in seconds) taken by their students to run a $100$-meter sprint. The results are grouped in a frequency table with…

A Physical Education teacher records the time (in seconds) taken by their students to run a $100$-meter sprint. The results are grouped in a frequency table with intervals of width $2$ seconds.

Knowing that:

  • The first interval starts at $12$ seconds.

  • $f_1 = 15\%$

  • $f_2 = 35\%$

  • $N_3 = 21$ students.

  • $F_3 = 0.7$ (cumulative relative frequency).

  • The remaining students are divided equally between the last two intervals up to a maximum time of $22$ seconds.

Calculate the total number of students ($N$) and complete the absolute frequency table.

Solve

From a Circle Graph to a Table

A circle graph (or pie chart) divides the whole circle, which measures $360^\circ$, among the categories. Each sector represents a part of the total, so its angle or its percent gives you the relative frequency.

Why? The whole circle is the total of the data ($f = 1$, that is, $360^\circ$). A sector that takes up a quarter of the circle, $90^\circ$, represents a quarter of the data.

Practice★★☆Not started
Look at the following circle graph, which shows the preferred type of music of the $200$ students at a school: Construct the frequency and relative frequency table…

Look at the following circle graph, which shows the preferred type of music of the $200$ students at a school:

Pop 25% Trap 25% Rock 30% Otros 20% 200 students

Construct the frequency and relative frequency table corresponding to this graph.

Solve

From a Cumulative Frequency Polygon to a Table

The cumulative frequency polygon connects the points $(x, N_i)$ with segments: the horizontal axis shows the value (or the upper endpoint of the interval) and the vertical axis shows how many data values there are up to that point. It always goes up or stays level, and the last point reaches $N$.

Cumulative frequency polygon with points (10, 4), (20, 12), (30, 18), and (40, 20) that rises to the total of 20 data values. 10203040 04121820 value (interval endpoint)

Why? $N_i$ counts all the data up to $x_i$ and $N_{i-1}$ counts those before; what is left over are the ones that fall exactly at that value or interval.

Practice★★★Not started
From the cumulative frequency polygon of the grades of a mathematics exam, reconstruct the absolute frequency table. Knowing that the total number of students is $30$,…

From the cumulative frequency polygon of the grades of a mathematics exam, reconstruct the absolute frequency table. Knowing that the total number of students is $30$, determine how many students obtained a grade greater than or equal to $5$ but strictly less than $9$.

Cumulative frequency polygon of exam grades012345678910051015202530Grade (xᵢ)Cumulative frequency (Nᵢ)(1, 3)(3, 7)(5, 15)(7, 24)(9, 28)(10, 30)

Note: The points on the graph are $(1, 3), (3, 7), (5, 15), (7, 24), (9, 28), (10, 30)$, where the first coordinate is the grade and the second is the cumulative absolute frequency $N_i$.

Solve

Two-Way Tables

When two variables are crossed at the same time (for example, preferred music and gender), we use a two-way table: the rows are the values of one variable and the columns are the values of the other.

Diagram of a two-way table where each cell crosses a row value with a column value. PopRockTrap 635 row × column = one cell
Practice★★☆Not started
A survey was carried out among middle school students about their favorite sport. The results are shown in this two-way table, but some data are missing. Complete it. |…

A survey was carried out among middle school students about their favorite sport. The results are shown in this two-way table, but some data are missing. Complete it.

Soccer Basketball Tennis TOTAL
Girls $45$ $20$ $95$
Boys $25$ $15$
TOTAL $105$ $55$

Using the table, calculate the percentage of (total) students who prefer basketball.

Solve
Practice★★☆Not started
A study is to be carried out on the use of social networks. To do this, a sample of 2nd ESO students are asked about their favorite network (TikTok or Instagram) and…

A study is to be carried out on the use of social networks. To do this, a sample of 2nd ESO students are asked about their favorite network (TikTok or Instagram) and whether they post content daily (Yes or No).

Complete the table knowing that:

  • A total of $80$ students were surveyed.

  • $45$ students prefer Instagram.

  • Of those who prefer TikTok, $15$ do not post daily.

  • In total, $50$ students in the sample post content daily.

Posts daily (Yes) Posts daily (No) TOTAL
TikTok $15$
Instagram $45$
TOTAL $50$ $80$

What percentage of students who prefer Instagram post content daily?

Solve
Practice★★★Not started
A survey on the use of three streaming platforms (A, B, and C) was conducted among 2nd year ESO students. This incomplete two-way table relates the preferred platform to…

A survey on the use of three streaming platforms (A, B, and C) was conducted among 2nd year ESO students. This incomplete two-way table relates the preferred platform to the primary device used.

Two-way table on streaming platforms and devicesTabletSmartphonePCTOTALPlatform APlatform BPlatform CTOTAL8514226725183569??????
Tablet Smartphone PC TOTAL
Platform A $8$ $5$
Platform B $14$ $22$
Platform C $6$ $7$ $25$
TOTAL $18$ $35$

Knowing that the total number of surveyed students is $69$, complete the table and calculate what percentage of the total students mainly uses a Smartphone to watch Platform B.

Solve

Summary

See all the exercises in this section