Name: ______________________________ Date: _____________________

DISPLAYING DATA IN HISTOGRAMS

N-GEN MATH® 6

So far in our study of statistics we’ve seen measurements (or data) displayed in dot plots and
histograms. Dot plots make sense when displaying data where there are repeated values and the
number of data values is relatively small. Histograms make more sense if data values don’t repeat
but data can be put into categories that do.

Exercise #1: The numbers of points that the Red Hook 8th grade basketball team scored in its
games this season are shown below.

27, 49, 31, 35, 37, 44, 49, 50, 41, 43, 69, 48, 45, 34, 39, 28, 52, 57, 36, 45, 48, 41, 72, 37, 45

(a) How many observations are in this data set?

(b) Fill out the frequency table below to

summarize the data set.

Point Range Tally Frequency

20 to 29
30 to 39
40 to 49
50 to 59
60 to 69
70 to 79

(c) Create a histogram based on your table.

(d) The dot plot for this data set is shown below. Explain why a histogram is a better choice to
display this data set than the dot plot.

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N-GEN MATH® 6, UNIT 11 – STATISTICS - LESSON 3
eMATHinstruction, RED HOOK, NY 12571, © 2020
Constructing histograms can be a lengthy process compared to dot plots, which are relatively
quick. Let’s take a look at another example.

Exercise #2: Aubree is trying to answer the question “How many words are in a paragraph in a
book written by the author N.K. Jemisin?”

(a) Why is this a statistical question?

(b) Aubree is considering taking a sample of 28 paragraphs by taking the first and last paragraphs
of each of the book’s 14 chapters. Why might this sample be biased?

(c) Aubree produces the following 28 values:

55, 58, 38, 44, 39, 43, 56, 38, 42, 52, 57, 60, 44, 42, 63, 56, 53, 50, 62, 60, 56, 58, 54, 55, 53,
40, 68, 59

Fill in the frequency table below for this data set and use it to create a frequency histogram.
Put an axis break similar to the one from Exercise #1 along the x-axis.

Words Tally Frequency

35 to 39
40 to 44
45 to 49
50 to 54
55 to 59
60 to 64
65 to 69

(d) Why do you think it is important that each frequency interval in the table above is the same
width?

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N-GEN MATH® 6, UNIT 11 – STATISTICS - LESSON 3
eMATHinstruction, RED HOOK, NY 12571, © 2020
Name: ______________________________ Date: _____________________
DISPLAYING DATA IN HISTOGRAMS
N-GEN MATH® 6 HOMEWORK

USING YOUR MATH

1. A spelling test with 50 words on it was given to 200

students who entered a spelling bee. The results are
shown in the histogram to the right.

(a) Which category had the greatest frequency?

(b) How many students spelled 35 to 39 words

correctly?

(c) What percent of the 200 students who took this test spelled 35 to 39 words correctly?
Show or explain how you found your answer.

2. Luke is trying to answer the question “How tall are students in my class?” He measures the
heights, in inches, of 25 students in class. The data set is shown below.
53, 64, 61, 58, 50, 53, 49, 55, 58, 54, 68, 60, 54, 65, 48, 57, 71, 63, 54, 61, 59, 57, 58, 52, 59
(a) Fill out the frequency table below using the data set and plot the results on the grid.

Height (in) Tally Frequency

45 to 49
50 to 54
55 to 59
60 to 64
65 to 69
70 to 74

(b) Why is an axis break necessary on the x-axis?

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N-GEN MATH® 6, UNIT 11 – STATISTICS - LESSON 3
eMATHinstruction, RED HOOK, NY 12571, © 2020
3. Jade is trying to answer the statistical question “How much do watermelons weigh?” She
takes a sample of watermelons at a store and records their weights in ounces.
44, 36, 57, 43, 63, 64, 53, 56, 63, 68, 78, 55, 56, 83, 58, 77, 51, 48, 63, 47, 46, 31, 67, 73, 70,
61, 34, 61, 95, 80 Weight
Tally Frequency
(ounces)
(a) Complete the frequency table by filling
30 to 39
in the missing categories, the tallies, and
the frequencies. 40 to 49

(b) How many observations did Jade make?

(How many watermelons did she weigh?)

(c) Create a histogram below based on the frequency table. Carefully label and include an
axis break if necessary.

(d) Jade was asked by her teacher what a watermelon typically weighs. She answers “About
four pounds.” If there are 16 ounces per pound, explain why Jade’s answer is reasonable.

® ®
N-GEN MATH® 6, UNIT 11 – STATISTICS - LESSON 3
eMATHinstruction, RED HOOK, NY 12571, © 2020