Frequency

The frequency of an event is the number of times it

happens during a particular period.
21 51 89 98 103 119 120 125 129 150
40 41 100 94 103 119 142 138 129 146
55 79 101 93 118 110 190 199 188 186

Class Interval Frequency

0 – 39 1

40 – 79 5

80 – 119 12

120 – 159 8

160 – 199 4
Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Frequency Distribution
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.
By forming frequency distribution, we can summarize the
data effectively. It is a method of presenting the data in a
summarized form. Frequency distribution is also known as
Frequency table. 

A frequency distribution is defined as an orderly arrangement of

data classified according to the magnitude of the observations.

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Cont…
Frequency distribution table consists of various
components.
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. The class interval between
10 and 20 is defined as 10-20.
Class limits: The smallest and largest possible values in each
class of a frequency distribution table are known as class
limits. For the class 10-20, the class limits are 10 and 20.
10 is called the lower class limit and 20 is called the upper
class limit.
Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Cont…
Class frequency: The number of observation falling within a
class interval is called class frequency of that class interval

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Cont…
Example: Draw the frequency distribution table for the
given ungrouped data. Consider the following ungrouped
marks (out of 50) given to 30 students 
24    30  36    35    42    40    26    23  
36  36  12  45  29  21  34  40
16  47  28  32  33  44  19  34

30 36  35  49  20  14

Solution: 
Range= Largest –Smallest = 49 - 12 = 37.
Normally it is desirable to divide the range into 6 to 10 classes.
Approximate Class Width = range/classes = 37/7=5.28
Class width = 5 (approximate)
Dr. M. N. Abrar
Cont…

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Graphical Representation of Data
A graph is a pictorial representation of numerical data.
Generally, the data used in statistics is vast and it is difficult
to read all the data items and interpret the results.

Graphical representation is very helpful in making

comparisons, interpreting various results and even
forecasting many possibilities.

A graph is diagram which shows relationship between two

variables. These variables are usually defined on X and Y
axis. One variable is independent and is generally
represented on X-axis, while the other variable is
dependent and is generally represented on Y-axis
 Types of Graphs and Charts
Graph and chart make a difficult data easy to understand. One
can interpret the results by just having a look at graph or chart.
There are different types of graphs and charts. Few of them are
listed below:

Line graph
Pie chart
Bar graph
Stem and leaf plot
Histogram
Frequency polygon
Frequency curve
Cumulative frequency curve
Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Line Graph
A line graph is an important tool for understanding and comparing
two variables. One variable is represented at x-axis and other at y-
axis. The points given are plotted and are joined together by
straight lines. Following diagram is a line graph showing average
monthly rainfall of different cities:
 Pie chart
Pie chart is named so, due to its similarity with pie and its slices. Pie
chart is a circular chart which is divided into sectors. Each sector
corresponds to different values of a data. Generally, in pie charts, the
percentage of each number is calculated and then obtained
percentages are plotted at pie chart. Following pie chart shows exit
poll results in an election.

Percentage of a data item can

be calculated by the following
formula: 
Data item 100
Percent Value 
Total
 Cont…
Example: Imagine you survey with your friends to find which kind
of movies they like best:
Table: Favorite Type of Movie
Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi
4 5 6 1 4

Solution:
Step 1: First, put your data into a table (like above), then
add up all the values to get a total:
Table: Favorite Type of Movie

Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi TOTAL

4 5 6 1 4 20
 Cont…
Step 2: Next, divide each value by the total and multiply by 100 to
get a percent:
Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi TOTAL
4 5 6 1 4 20

4/20  5/20  6/20  1/20  4/20 

= 20% = 25% = 30% = 5% = 20% 100%

Step 3: Now to figure out how many degrees for each "pie slice"
(correctly called a sector). A Full Circle has 360 degrees, so we do
this calculation:
Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi TOTAL
4 5 6 1 4 20
20% 25% 30% 5% 20% 100%
4/20 × 360° 5/20 × 360° 6/20 × 360° 1/20 × 360° 4/20 × 360°
360°
= 72° = 90° = 108° = 18° = 72°
 Cont…
Step 4: Then use your protractor to measure the degrees of
each sector. Finish up by coloring each sector and giving it
a label like "Comedy: 4 (20%)", etc.

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Bar Graph
Bar graph or bar chart is a graph which consists of rectangular bars.
Length of these bars correspond to the values given in the data.
Two consecutive rectangular bars are at fixed distance. Bar graphs
are very useful and most suited for the qualitative data and
discrete data. Following diagram shows a bar graph of marks
obtained by students:
 Bar Graph
Example: Student Grades
In a recent test, this many students got these grades:

Grade: A B C D

Students: 4 12 10 2

And here is the bar graph:

 Stem and Leaf Plot
Stem and leaf plot is also called stem plot. It is a way of
representing numerical or quantitative data. In order to
draw a stem and leaf plot, first the data must be arranged
in ascending order. Leaf contains digit at one's place and
stem contains all other remaining digits. Then, two
columns should be constructed. Stems are listed in left
column and leaves are in right one. 
Stem and leaf plots were more used in early 80s than
now. Stem and leaf plot is useful for a data which is not
too small as well as not too large to be represented as a
table. This plot can be constructed by hands easily and is
very easy to interpret.
 Stem and Leaf Plot
Example: A stem and leaf plot displaying marks obtained by few
students in Statics exam is constructed below: 45, 80, 78, 82, 71, 62,
55, 42, 89, 65, 79, 45, 82, 61, 90, 83, 95, 55, 71, 83.
Solution: Ascending Order: 42, 45, 45, 55, 55, 61, 62, 65, 71, 71, 78,
79, 80, 82, 82, 83, 83, 89, 90, 95
Stem Leaf
4 2 5 5
5 5 5
6 1 2 5
7 1 1 8 9
8 0 2 2 3 3 9
9 0 5
 Example
Data set: 4, 396, 472, 56, 58, 24, 125, 200, 8,

M. N. Abrar
 Example
Example:
Stem Leaf

Compute the data set from the above stem and leaf table.
 Histogram
Histogram is a graphical representation which uses rectangular bars
to present the data. Histograms look like bar graphs. Unlike bar
graphs, histograms do not have gaps between two consecutive
bars. Histograms are most useful for representing grouped data.
Width of rectangular bar on X-axis usually denotes class interval.
Following graph demonstrates a histogram:
 Frequency polygon
Frequency polygon is an extension of histogram. Frequency
polygon is constructed by marking mid points of all the bars in
histogram and then, joining them together by straight lines.
Though, frequency polygon can be made without drawing
histogram by just marking midpoints (of given class interval) on X-
axis and then plotting points corresponding to them, join these
points with straight lines.
 Frequency Curve
A curve is a line that is smooth and continuous. In a histogram,
when midpoints are joined together with straight lines, a
frequency polygon is formed. On the other hand, when midpoints
are joined together by free hand resulting in a smooth curve, a
frequency curve is formed. It means that the only difference
between frequency polygon and frequency curve is that unlike
frequency polygon, frequency curve is smooth and without sharp
edges.  A diagram showing frequency curve of the same data used
before is given below:
 Cumulative Frequency Curve or
Ogive
Cumulative frequency of a particular frequency (in a given
frequency distribution) is calculated by adding all the
frequencies above to that particular frequency.
Cumulative frequency curve is a curve which is drawn by
plotting cumulative frequency points on a graph.
Cumulative histograms, also known as ogives, are graphs
that can be used to determine how many data values lie
above or below a particular value in a data set.

Example: Following table shows how cumulative frequency of a

given data is computed:
Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Cont…
Days  Number of cars Cumulative Frequencies
parked (f)  (c.f.)

Monday 10  10
Tuesday  12  10 + 12 = 22 

Wednesday  9  22 + 9 = 31 

Thursday  8  31 + 8 = 39

Friday  15  39 + 15 = 54

Saturday  20  54 + 20 = 74 

Sunday 18  74 + 18 = 92 

Total = 92 
 Histograms Example-1
Histograms are a useful way to illustrate the frequency
distribution of continuous data. For example, the data
in the table below shows the viscosity of different
fluids.
Viscosity (Centipoise) Frequency

2.5–2.9 2
3.0–3.4 5
3.5–3.9 8
4.0–4.4 11
4.5–4.9 9
5.0–5.4 4
5.5–5.9 1

What are the class widths?

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Histograms Example-1
Since the classes are of equal width, a standard histogram
can be drawn, using the frequencies for height.
Remember to
give your
Histogram Showing Viscosities of Fluid histogram a title.
The vertical axis 12
represents the
frequency. 10

8
Frequency

6
There are no gaps
4 between the bars
because the data
2
are continuous.
0
0-0 2.5 - 2.9 3.0 - 3.4 3.5 - 3.9 4.0 - 4.4 4.5 - 4.9 5.0 - 5.4 5.5 - 5.9
Viscosity in Centipose

The horizontal axis represents the

viscosities and contains the classes
of the frequency distribution.

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Histograms Example-1
12
Histogram Showing Viscosities of Fluid
10

8
Frequency

0
0-0 2.5 - 2.9 3.0 - 3.4 3.5 - 3.9 4.0 - 4.4 4.5 - 4.9 5.0 - 5.4 5.5 - 5.9

Lung volume (litres)

A frequency polygon is obtained by joining the mid-points of the

top of the histogram bars.
Draw frequency curve your self.
Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Histograms Example-2
If the classes are not of equal width, we cannot use
the frequency as the vertical axis. This is because
the frequency needs to be shown by the area of the
bar, not just the height of the bar.
Lung volume (Litres) Frequency
2.0–2.9 2
3.0–3.2 6
3.3–3.5 8
3.6–4.0 10
4.1–5.0 9
5.1–5.5 4
5.6–5.7 1
What are the class widths in this example? Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Histograms Example-2
Instead of using frequency on the vertical axis, frequency density is used.
Frequency density is the frequency per unit for the data in each class.
Mathematically:
Frequency density = frequency/class width

Lung volume (litres) Frequency Class width Frequency density

2.0–2.9 2 1.0 2.0

3.0–3.2 6 0.3 20.0
3.3–3.5 8 0.3 26.6
3.6–4.0 10 0.5 20.0
4.1–5.0 9 1.0 9.0
5.1–5.5 4 0.5 8.0
5.6–5.7 1 0.2 5.0
Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Histograms Example-2
This time, frequency density is plotted
against lung volume.

area of rectangle  l  w
area  25 * 0.3  7.5

2.0 3.0 3.3 3.6 4.0 5.0 5.5 5.7

Dr. M. N. Abrar
Example of Ungrouped Data

42 26 32 34 57

30 58 37 50 30 Ages of a Sample
53 40 30 47 49 of Managers
50 40 32 31 40
from Urban
52 28 23 35 25
Child Care
30 36 32 26 50

55 30 58 64 52
Centers in the
49 33 43 46 32
United States
61 31 30 40 60

74 37 29 43 54

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Cont…

Class Interval Frequency

20-under 30 6
30-under 40 18
40-under 50 11
50-under 60 11
60-under 70 3
70-under 80 1

© 2002 Thomson / South-Western Slide

Dr. 2-32
M. N. Abrar
 Cont…

42 26 32 34 57

30 58 37 50 30

53 40 30 47 49
Range=Largest – Smallest
50 40 32 31 40
=74-23=51
52 28 23 35 25

30 36 32 26 50

55 30 58 64 52 Smallest
49 33 43 46 32

61 31 30 40 60 Largest
74 37 29 43 54

© 2002 Thomson / South-Western Slide

Dr. 2-33
M. N. Abrar
 Cont…
Class Width
• Divide the range by the number of classes for an
approximate class width
• Round up to a convenient number

Approximate Class Width=range/classes=51/6=8.5

Class width=10

Dr. M. N. Abrar
 Cont…
Cumulative
Class Interval Frequency Frequency
20-under 30 6 6
30-under 40 18 24 6+18=
40-under 50 11 35
50-under 60 11 46
60-under 70 3 49
70-under 80 1 50
Total 50

© 2002 Thomson / South-Western Slide

Dr. 2-35
M. N. Abrar
 Cont…

Class Interval Frequency

20
20-under 30 6
30-under 40 18

Frequency
40-under 50 11

10
50-under 60 11
60-under 70 3
70-under 80 1
0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Years

© 2002 Thomson / South-Western Slide

Dr. 2-36
M. N. Abrar
 Cont…

Class IntervalFrequency

20
20-under 30 6
30-under 40 18
40-under 50 11

Frequency
50-under 60 11

10
60-under 70 3
70-under 80 1 0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Years

© 2002 Thomson / South-Western Slide

Dr. 2-37
M. N. Abrar
 Approximately Symmetric
• Data that are “close to” being symmetric are said to be
approximately symmetric.

– one of a symmetric data set,

– one of an approximately symmetric data set, and
– one of a data set that exhibits no symmetry.

38
Quick Review of histogram shapes

Dr. M. N. Abrar
Cont…

Dr. M. N. Abrar
Cont…
 Outlier

An outlier falls far from the rest of the data

Thank you