Frequency

Distributions
and Graphs

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Objectives

 Organize data using frequency

distributions.
 Represent data in frequency
distributions graphically using
histograms, frequency polygons,
and ogives.

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Objectives

 Represent data using Pareto

charts, time series graphs, and
pie graphs.

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Organizing Data

 When data are collected in original

form, they are called raw data.
 A frequency distribution is the
tabular presentation of raw data,
using classes and frequencies.
 Frequency is the number of values
in a specific class of the
distribution. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
 Three Types of Frequency
Distributions

 1. Categorical frequency
distributions - can be used for data
that can be placed in specific
categories, such as nominal- or
ordinal-level data.

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Blood Type Frequency
Distribution - Example

Class Frequency Percent

A 5 20

B 7 28

O 9 36

AB 4 16

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 Example: Categorical
Frequency Distribution
A questionnaire on housing arrangements
showed this information obtained from 25
respondents. Construct a frequency distribution
table containing frequency and percentage.
(H=house, A=apartment, M=mobile home,
C=condominium)
H C H M H A C A
M C M C A M A C
C M C C H A H H
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M
 Three Types of Frequency
Distributions

 2. Ungrouped frequency distributions -

can be used when the range of values
in the data set is not large.
-distribution with a width of 1

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Number of Miles Traveled -
Example

Class Frequency

5 24

10 16

15 10

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 Example: Ungrouped
Frequency Distribution
The number of visitors to the Railroad
Museum during 24 randomly selected hours is
shown here. Construct an ungrouped frequency
distribution for the data.
25 26 24 26 24 24 25 25
24 27 27 25 26 23 24 25
23 23 27 24 27 27 23 26

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 Three Types of Frequency
Distributions

 3. Grouped frequency distributions -

can be used when the range of values
in the data set is very large. The data
must be grouped into classes that are
more than one unit in width.

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Lifetimes of Boat Batteries -
Example

Class Class Frequency Cumulative

limits Boundaries frequency
24 - 37 23.5 - 37.5 4 4

38 - 51 37.5 - 51.5 14 18

52 - 65 51.5 - 65.5 7 25

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 Terms Associated with a
Grouped Frequency Distribution

 Class limits represent the smallest

and largest data values that can be
included in a class.
 The class boundaries are used to
separate the classes so that there are
no gaps in the frequency
distribution.
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 Terms Associated with a
Grouped Frequency Distribution
 The class width for a class in a
frequency distribution is the distance
between the lower (or upper) limits of
consecutive classes.
 Cumulative frequency is used to
determine the number of
observations that lie above (or
below) a particular value in a data
set. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Procedure for Constructing
a Grouped Frequency Distribution

 Find the highest and lowest value.

 Find the range.
 Select the number of classes
desired.
 Find the width by dividing the range
by the number of classes and
rounding up.
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Procedure for Constructing
a Grouped Frequency Distribution

 Select a starting point (usually the

lowest value); add the width to get the
lower limits.
 Find the upper class limits.
 Find the boundaries and midpoints.
 Tally the data, find the frequencies, and
find the cumulative frequency.

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 Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example
In a survey of 20
patients who smoked,
the following data were 10 8 6 14
obtained. Each value 22 13 17 19
represents the number 11 9 18 14
of cigarettes the patient
13 12 15 15
smoked per day.
Construct a frequency 5 11 16 11
distribution using six
classes © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example

 Step 1: Find the highest and lowest

values: H = 22 and L = 5.
 Step 2: Find the range:
R = H – L = 22 – 5 = 17.
 Step 3: Select the number of classes
desired. In this case it is
equal to 6.
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Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example

 Step 4: Find the class width by

dividing the range by the number
of classes. Width = 17/6 = 2.83.
This value is rounded up to 3.

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Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example

 Step 5: Select a starting point for

the lowest class limit. For
convenience, this value is chosen
to be 5, the smallest data value.
The lower class limits will be 5, 8,
11, 14, 17, and 20.

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Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example

 Step 6: The upper class limits will

be 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, and 22. For
example, the upper limit for the
first class is computed as 8 - 1,
etc.

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Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example

 Step 7: Find the class boundaries

by subtracting 0.5 from each lower
class limit and adding 0.5 to the
upper class limit.

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Grouped Frequency Distribution -
Example

 Step 8: Tally the data, write the

numerical values for the tallies in the
frequency column, and find the
cumulative frequencies.
 The grouped frequency distribution
is shown on the next slide.

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Note: The dash “-” represents “to”.

Class Limits Class Boundaries Frequency Cumulative Frequency

05 to 07 4.5 - 7.5 2 2
08 to 10 7.5 - 10.5 3 5
11 to 13 10.5 - 13.5 6 11
14 to 16 13.5 - 16.5 5 16
17 to 19 16.5 - 19.5 3 19
20 to 22 19.5 - 22.5 1 20

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 Histograms, Frequency Polygons,
and Ogives

 The three most commonly used

graphs in research are:
 The histogram.
 The frequency polygon.
 The cumulative frequency graph,
or ogive (pronounced o-jive).

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 Histograms, Frequency Polygons,
and Ogives

The histogram is a
graph that displays
the data by using
vertical bars of
various heights to
represent the
frequencies.
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 Histograms, Frequency
Polygons, and Ogives
A frequency polygon is
a graph that displays
the data by using lines
that connect points
plotted for frequencies
at the midpoint of
classes. The
frequencies represent
the heights of the
midpoints. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Histograms, Frequency Polygons,
and Ogives
A cumulative frequency graph or
ogive is a graph that represents the
cumulative frequencies for the
classes in a frequency distribution.
Ogive 20
Cumulative Frequency

10

2 5 8 11 14 17 20 23 26

N umber of C igarettes Smoked per D©

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 Other Types of Graphs
-Pareto Chart

Pareto charts -
use to represent
a frequency
distribution for a
categorical
variable.

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 Other Types of Graphs
-Pareto Chart

 When constructing a Pareto chart -

 Make the bars the same width.
 Arrange the data from largest to
smallest according to frequencies.
 Make the units that are used for the
frequency equal in size.

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 Example
The following data are based on a
survey from American Travel Survey on
why people travel. Construct a pareto chart
for the data.
Purpose Number
Personal Business 146
Visit friends or 330
relatives
Work-related 225
Leisure 299
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 Other Types of Graphs
- Time Series Graph

Time series
graph -
represents data
that occur over a
specific period
of time.

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 Example
The number (in millions) of vehicles, both
passenger and commercial, that used the
Pennsylvania Turnpike for the years 1999
through 2003 is shown. Construct and analyze a
time series graph for the data.
Year No. of vehicles
1999 156.2
2000 160.1
2001 162.3
2002 172.8
2003 179.4 © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
 Other Types of Graphs
-Pie Graph
Pie graph - A pie graph
is a circle that is
divided into sections
or wedges according
to the percentage of
frequencies in each
category of the
distribution.

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 Example
This frequency distribution shows the
number of pounds of each snack food eaten
during the Super Bowl. Construct a pie
graph for the data.
Snack Pounds (frequency)
Potato Chips 11.2 million
Tortilla Chips 8.2 million
Pretzels 4.3 million
Popcorn 3.8 million
Snack Nuts 2.5 million
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 Stem and Leaf Plot

A stem and leaf plot

is a data plot that
uses the Leading Digit
as the stem and the
Trailing Digit as the
leaf to form groups
or classes.
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 Stem and Leaf Plot
- Example

 At an outpatient testing center, a

sample of 20 days showed the
following number of cardiograms
done each day: 25, 31, 20, 32, 13, 14,
43, 02, 57, 23, 36, 32, 33, 32, 44, 32,
52, 44, 51, 45. Construct a stem and
leaf plot for the data.

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Stem and Leaf Plot
- Example

Leading Digit (Stem) Trailing Digit (Leaf)

0 2
1 3 4
2 0 3 5
3 1 2 2 2 2 3 6
4 3 4 4 5
5 1 2 7

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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Exercise: (1 whole yellow paper)
The data below are the scores obtained by 50 students
in an 80-item Statistics exam.
23, 50, 38, 42, 63, 75, 12, 33, 26, 39, 35, 47, 43, 52,
56, 59, 64, 77, 15, 21, 51, 54, 72, 68, 36, 65, 52, 60,
27, 34, 47, 48, 55, 58, 59, 62, 51, 48, 50, 41, 57, 65,
54, 43, 56, 44, 30, 46, 67, 53
a. Construct a Frequency Distribution Table showing Class
Limits, Class Boundaries, Class Marks(Midpoints),
Frequencies and Less than Cumulative Frequencies with 7
classes.
b. Use Histogram and Ogive to present the FDT in (a).
c. Construct a categorical FDT showing frequency and
percentage with the following classes: Poor (0-20) Fair (21-
40) Good (41-60) and Very Good (61-80).
d. Use pie chart to present the FDT in ©(c).
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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Exercise
1. Suppose the 8:00 PM temperatures (in
degrees Fahrenheit) for a 35-day period are
as follows:
73, 78, 86, 93, 106, 107, 96, 82, 81, 79, 87,
82, 91, 95, 92, 83, 105, 78, 70, 81, 86, 92, 93,
84, 107, 99, 94, 86, 81, 77, 73, 76 80, 81, 91
a. Construct a Frequency Distribution Table
showing Class Limits, Class Boundaries, Class
Marks(Midpoints), Frequencies and Cumulative
Frequencies with 7 classes.
b. Use histogram and ogive to present the data
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Exercise
2. A sample of 20 M&M’s is observed and
their colors are recorded.
Green, Yellow, Red, Green, Yellow, Brown, Red,
Brown, Brown, Yellow, Blue, Red, Red, Orange,
Green, Yellow, Red, Red, Yellow, Green
a. Construct a FDT showing
Frequency, Cumulative Frequency and
Percent
b. Use Pareto chart and pie graph to present
the data. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
2.

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Exercise
1. Worldwide Sales of Fast Foods The worldwide
sales (in billions of dollars) for several fast-food
franchises for a specific year are shown. Construct a
Pareto chart for the data.
>Wendy’s $ 8.7 >KFC 14.2
>Pizza Hut 9.3 >Burger King 12.7
>Subway 10.0
2. Roller Coaster Mania The World Roller
Coaster Census Report lists the following number
of roller coasters on each continent. Represent the
data graphically, using a Pie Chart.
>Africa 17 >Asia 315
>Australia 22 >Europe 413
>North America 643 >South America 45
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 Exercise
A 75-item final examination was given to GENMTH1
students of UB-SHS last semester. Below are the scores of 43
students.
48 35 36 40 42 57 29 19 70
32 30 46 43 40 68 45 46 55
35 15 44 48 45 49 33 73 74
28 16 41 46 39 55 67 68
20 19 38 47 31 72 58 60
1. Construct a FDT showing the tally, no. of classes (use
Sturge’s Rule c= 1+3.322(log N), and class interval i, i=R/c.
Class Limits, Class Boundaries, Class
Marks(Midpoints), Frequencies, Percent, Cumulative
Frequencies, Relative Frequencies
2. Solve for the mean and standard deviation of the
distribution. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Exercise
Weights of the NBA’s Top 50 Players
Listed are the weights of the NBA’s top 50
players. Construct a table showing Class
Limits, Class Boundaries, Class
Marks(Midpoints), Frequencies and Less
than Cumulative Frequencies with 9
classes.

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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
 Frequency Distribution Table
(FDT)
Class Class Class Mark Tally Frequency <cf >cf Relative
Interval Boundaries Frequency
(C.I.) (C.B.) (x) (f) (r. f.)
15 – 24 14.5 – 24.5 19.5
25 – 34 24.5 – 34.5 29.5
35 – 44 34.5 – 44.5 39.5
45 – 54 44.5 – 54.5 49.5
55 – 64 54.5 – 64.5 59.5
65 – 74 64.5 – 74.5 69.5
i=10 n=43

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