Chapter III

Frequency Distributions
 Frequency Distribution

• A statistical data may consists of a list of numbers related to a research. Among those numbers, few may be
repeated twice and even more than twice. The repetition of number in a data set is termed as frequency of
that particular number or the variable in which that number is assigned. The frequencies of variables in a
data are to be listed in a table. This table is known as frequency distribution table and the list is referred
as frequency distribution.
What is Frequency Distribution?
• A frequency distribution is an orderly arrangement of data classified according to the magnitude of the
observations. When the data are grouped into classes of appropriate size indicating the number of
observations in each class we get a frequency distribution.
Types of frequency distributions
1. Grouped frequency distribution
2. Ungrouped frequency distribution
3. Cumulative frequency distribution
4. Relative frequency distribution
5. Relative cumulative frequency distribution
Uses of Frequency Distribution
• 1. Frequency distribution helps us to analyze the data.
• 2. Frequency distribution helps us to estimate the frequency of the population on the basis of the sample.
• 3. Frequency distribution helps us to facilitate the computation of various statistical measures
Ungrouped Frequency Distribution
A frequency distribution with an interval width of 1 is referred to an ungrouped frequency distribution.
Ungrouped frequency distribution is an arrangement of the observed values in ascending order. The ungrouped
frequency distribution are those data, which are not arranged in groups. They are known as individual series.
When the ungrouped data are grouped, we get the grouped frequency distribution

Grouped Frequency Distribution

A grouped frequency distribution is an ordered listed of a variable X, into groups in one column with a
listing in a second column, the frequency column. A grouped frequency distribution is an arrangement class
intervals and corresponding frequencies in a table.
There are certain rules to be remembered when constructing a grouped frequency distribution.
1. The number of classes should be 5 and 20.
2. If possible, the magnitude of the classes must be 5 or multiple of 5.
3. Lower limit of first class must be multiple of 5.
4. Classes are shown in the first column and frequencies in the second column
 Cumulative Frequency Distribution
• One of the important type of frequency distribution is Cumulative frequency distribution. In cumulative
frequency distribution, the frequencies are shown in the cumulative manner. The cumulative frequency for
each class interval is the frequency for that class interval added to the preceding cumulative total.
Cumulative frequency can also defined as the sum of all previous frequencies up to the current point.
Relative Frequency Distribution
• A relative frequency distribution is a distribution in which relative frequencies are recorded against each
class interval. Relative frequency of a class is the frequency obtained by dividing frequency by the total
frequency. Relative frequency is the proportion of the total frequency that is in any given class interval in
the frequency distribution.
Frequency Distribution Table
A simple Frequency distribution table (also known as frequency table) has two important columns
1. Classes: A large number of observations varying in a wide range are usually classified in several groups
according to the size of their values. Each of these groups is defined by an interval called class interval.
2. Class frequencies: The number of observation falling within a class interval is called class frequency of that
class interval
Frequency Distribution of the Test Scores in Mathematics of Fifty Students

Class Interval Class Frequencies

20-24 2

25-29 6

30-34 9

35-39 10

40-44 12

45-49 7

50-54 4

i=5 n=50
 The following columns maybe added aside from classes and class frequencies columns
1. class boundaries(upper and lower boundaries)
2. Midpoint or class marks
3. cumulative frequencies
4. relative frequencies
Frequency Distribution Chart
The most commonly used graphs of frequency distribution are
1. Histogram
2. Frequency Polygon
3. Ogives (cumulative Frequency Curves)
A histogram is sometimes known as frequency distribution chart. It is a set of vertical bars whose areas are
proportional to the frequencies. While constructing histogram, the variable is always taken on the horizontal
axis and frequencies on the vertical axis. The width of the bars in the frequency distribution chart will be
proportional to the class interval. The bars are drawn without leaving spaces between them.
A frequency polygon is constructed by plotting the frequencies against the corresponding class marks
connecting successive points by means of straight lines and allowing both tails to touch the horizontal axis by
adding extra class mark at each tail of the distribution
In a histogram, the class frequencies are represented by bars. The height of each bar corresponds to its class
frequency

•
Frequency Polygon
 Pareto Chart
A Pareto chart A Pareto chart may look at first glance like a histogram, but there are two key differences.
The first is that the x variable is categorical rather than numerical. For instance, the x variable may be
type of defect. The second difference is that the bars are arranged in decreasing order of frequency.
 Stem-Leaf Plot
Stem-and-leaf plots are a method for showing the frequency with which certain classes of values occur
 Construction of a grouped frequency distribution
•1. Find K. The number of classes (K) should be 5 to 20: K = 1+3.3 log n
2. Find the range. R= MaxValue - MinValue
3. Determine the class size or width. i=
4. The number of classes has to be rounded off to a whole number
5. Select a starting point .It is much convenient if the starting point is a multiple of the class width

The following data represent the IQs of 50 applicants who passed the 1st screening test. Construct a frequency
distribution

120 118 110 112 120 116 107 120 115 109
117 110 112 114 113 108 112 118 100 125
121 120 111 111 120 110 114 117 127 126
115 117 122 110 105 113 118 118 134 104
111 122 114 109 118 119 118 124 105 134