Section 11-1
Tables and Graphs
LINE PLOTS
One of the most basic types of tables is a line plot. This is used for surveys of small numbers of people, or to show a distribution of data about a small set.
Example:
Suppose you count the number of students in each classroom in your school. Since there are only a few classrooms, you can use a line plot to organize your data.
Write the portion of the number line starting with the lowest value up to the highest value in your data set. Then for each classroom, make a mark above the number of students.

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS
A frequency distribution is like a line plot turned sideways, with the number of marks counted.
Example:
Suppose you want to create a frequency distribution for the following data set: A, D, F, B, A, F, A, D, B, F, F, A, A, E, A, D, C, B, C, A, E, F.
Line the letters up on the left. Tally each occurance and count the tallies in the right hand column.
Letter |
Tally |
Frequency |
A |
///// // |
7 |
B |
/// |
3 |
C |
// |
2 |
D |
/// |
3 |
E |
// |
2 |
F |
///// |
5 |
BAR GRAPHS
Bar graphs can be used to compare numerical data.
Example:
Suppose you want to compare the average temperature in a certain city on a certain day across a four-year period. You might get a bar graph like the one shown below.
