STATISTICS

Classifying Data
There are different types of data:

Note: Categorical data by name is also called nominal data.

Exercise 1
1.
Do the survey questions collect categorical or numerical variables?
(i) What colour are your eyes?
(ii) How many brothers and sisters do you have?
(iii) What type of phone do you have?
(iv) How many sports do you play?
(v) What's your favourite sport?
(vi) How long does it take you to get to school?
2.
Surveys were conducted to collect data on the topics listed below.
Classify the data by ticking in the appropriate box.

Categorical Numerical
Nominal Ordinal Discrete Continuous
The number of people in each of the
checkout queues in a supermarket

How long it takes each person to get

through the checkout

The colour of each car that passes in front

of your school

The number of people in each car that

passes the front of your school

The speed of each car that passes the

front of the school

The number of children in the family of

each of the students in your class

That teenagers should have their own

bedroom

How students travel to school in the

morning

That seatbelts should be compulsory

The distance students travel to school

Tally and frequency

Example 1.
The ages of audience members at a rap concert are shown below. Display the results in a
frequency table and find the most frequent age group in the audience:
12, 14, 14, 14, 15, 14, 14, 16,
11, 14, 15, 12, 12, 11, 13, 14,
16, 14, 14, 13, 13, 13, 14, 15

Age Tally Frequency

12
13
14
15
16
17
Total = Total =

Example 2.
The results of a survey to find the most popular subject in a class are given below.
Display the results in a frequency table:
LOTE, Maths, Science, LOTE, English,
Art, Maths, Art, Art, S&E, Art, Art, Art,
Maths, Maths, Maths, Art, LOTE,
English, LOTE, Art, Science, Art, Art,
Maths, LOTE, Maths, English, Art, Art

Subject Tally Frequency

Art

English

Maths

LOTE

S&E

Science

Total = Total =
Column and bar graphs
Another way of displaying categorical or ordinal data is using bar charts or column graphs.
Example 1.
Two groups of 100 students from two different schools were surveyed to find their opinions
on school uniform. The students were asked to consider whether all schools should abolish
school uniforms and whether they agree, don’t care or disagree with this statement. The
results for the two schools are given here:

The results for school A could be displayed as a horizontal bar chart or a vertical column
graph.

Draw a horizontal bar graph and a column graph to represent the data from school B.
Label your axes.
Exercise 2
1.
The number of cities with a population greater than 1 million is shown in the column graph
below:

a. Which region of the world has the largest number of cities with a population greater
than a million?

b. Which region of the world has the smallest number of cities with a population greater
than a million?

c. How many cities with a population greater than a million are there in Europe?

d. Which two regions have a similar number of cities with a population greater than a
million?

e. How many cities with a population greater than 1 million are there in the Americas
and Africa, in total?
2.
A survey of Year 8 students with pets produced the following results:

a. What question could have been asked to get the information? Assume the survey is
about pets.

b. Which category had 18 positive responses?

c. Two types of pet were less common than fi sh. What were they?

d. How many more students have dogs than cats?

e. If the columns in the graph add up to 150, does it mean that 150 students were
surveyed? Explain your answer.

f. How many pets that should have four legs were counted in the survey?
3.
A group of school students did a survey to ascertain the most popular colour of car. The
results were:
Column graphs and histograms
Column graphs and histograms can be used to display numerical data.

 Column graphs are used to display discrete data.

 Histograms are used to display continuous data.

Column graphs
Column graphs for numerical discrete data have the following features:

 All the bars/columns are the same width.

 The axes should be labelled. (The vertical axis is often labelled ‘Frequency’.)
 Appropriate heading.
 The horizontal axis should be numbered evenly (should have a scale).

Example 1.

The frequency table shows the number of children in the families of a group of Year 9
students. Display this information as a column graph and state the mode.

The number of children in the families of a Year 9 class

Histograms
Histograms for numerical continuous data have the following features:

 All bars/columns are the same width.

 There are no gaps between bars/columns.
 Axes should be labelled.
 Appropriate heading.
 The horizontal axis should have regular intervals (should have a scale)

Example 2.
The frequency table shows the heights of a group of Year 9 students. Display the information
as a histogram.

Height, h (cm) Frequency

3
7
16
4
Total = 30

Note: is called the class interval/boundary. It means the height recorded

starts from 140 cm (including 140 cm) and goes up to 150 cm (but does not include 150 cm).

The heights of students in a Year 9 class

Example 3.
The heights of 20 Year 9 students were measured and the results are shown in the
frequency table opposite. Represent this information in a histogram. The heights were
measured correct to the nearest centimetre.

In this graph, the left-most column represents the class 130 –139; the second, 140–149; and
so on. All our examples follow a similar convention.
This means that a height of 139.4 cm would be included in the 130–139 class and that a
height of 139.8 cm would be included in the 140–149 class.
Example 4.
A number of shoppers were asked to record their ages as they left a department store. The
data were recorded as follows.

Some aspects of the information become clearer after grouping. The final histogram is
shown below.

Now we can read off facts such as:

• The 45–49 age range contains the most shoppers.
• Nineteen shoppers fall in the 45–49 age range.
Classes are usually chosen so that the entire data set is broken up into at most 10 classes.
The advantage of grouping data is that trends are often easier to recognise.
A disadvantage of grouping data into classes is that we cannot see the individual values that
were recorded.
Example 5.
A bank branch chose 30 customers and recorded the number of internet transactions that
each made during the previous month.
1 4 8 2 17 0 6 4 9 11 23 12 3 15 4
0 5 8 1 6 9 13 21 8 9 0 4 1 11
(a) Complete the tally and frequency table.

(b) Construct a histogram of the grouped data.

Grouped Data
To understand a data set with a large number of values, it is helpful both to divide the range
of values of the data into intervals, called class intervals or classes, and to record the
frequency of each class interval – that is, the number of data items in each class. The
resulting summary of the data is called a grouped frequency table or simply a frequency
table.

Example 1.
The marks out of 50 for a mathematics test done by a class of 25 students are:

Present this information in a frequency table, using groupings of 15–19, 20–24, 25–29 and
so on, up to 45–49.

Mark Tally Frequency

15 – 19

Example 2.
The frequency table below shows the amount of sodium in 100 gram samples of different
foods.

The amount of sodium is a continuous variable, and it can take any value for the foods
considered from 0 to 350. The amounts here have been stated correct to the nearest
milligram.
Consider the class 200–249. This refers to foods that contain 200–249 mg of sodium in each
100 g.
This means that this class contains values from 199.5 up to, but not including, 249.5. The
real endpoints – 199.5 and 249.5 – are called class boundaries.

Exercise 3
1.
The number of runs scored in each innings by a batsman throughout a cricket season was:

(a) Present this information in a frequency table using class intervals:

0–9, 10–19, 20–29,…

(b) On how many occasions did the batsman score:

i. more than 49 runs ii. fewer than 10 runs

iii. fewer than 80 runs iv. between 20 and 59 runs?

2.
The number of hours of television watched each day by 20 students was recorded in the
table opposite.
How many students watched television for:
(a) less than one hour each day

(b) at least two hours each day

(c) between one and three hours each day?

3.
The approximate maximum daily temperature in Sydney was recorded each day for a month.
The results are given in the table.
(a) On how many days was the maximum temperature:
i. greater than 25.7°C

ii. less than 24.6°C

iii. between 24.3°C and 25.7°C (inclusive)

iv. between 24.9°C and 26.0°C (inclusive)?

(b) Why is it impossible to tell on how many days the maximum temperature was above
25°C?

4.
The following set of raw data shows the lengths, recorded to the nearest millimetre, of 40
leaves taken from a particular tree.

(a) Construct a frequency table with classes 25–29, 30–34 and so on.

Length, mm Tally Frequency

25 - 29
30 - 34

(b) In which class is a leaf measured as 29.7 mm included?

(c) In which class is a leaf measured as 34.3 mm included?

5.
The frequency table shown opposite gives information regarding the test results of a group
of 23 students. Present this information in a histogram.

6.
The histogram below gives information about the results of Year 9 students in a history
examination.
(a) How many students sat for the examination?

(b) If the pass mark was 60, how many students passed?

(c) What percentage of students obtained 90 or more?

(d) What percentage of students obtained less than 70?

7.
A student counted the number of cars that passed through an intersection on each cycle of
the traffic lights. The results of her investigation are shown in the histogram below.

(a) For how many cycles did the student record the number of cars passing through the
intersection?

(b) In how many cycles did:

i. fewer than 30 cars pass through the intersection

ii. at least 35 cars pass through the intersection?

(c) Why is it impossible to determine from the histogram how many cars in total passed
through the intersection during the survey period?

(d) Determine:
i. the minimum number of cars that could have passed through the intersection
during the survey period

ii. the maximum number of cars that could have passed through the intersection in
the survey period
Dot Plot
Dot plots are a pictorial way of displaying discrete numerical data. Dots corresponding to
each of the numbers are placed above a number line.
The mode is the most frequently occurring value.
Dot plots are sometimes called dot frequency graphs.

Example 1.
The ages of audience members at a rap concert were recorded.
These results were:
12, 14, 16, 14, 15, 16, 16, 16, 11, 14, 15, 12,
12, 11, 13, 15, 16, 14, 14, 13, 13, 13, 14, 15
Display these results as a dot plot.

The mode is 14. This means that the most frequent age is 14. Six fans were 14 years old.

Exercise 4
1.
The speed limit in a residential area was reduced from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. A group of
school students recorded the speeds of 40 vehicles on their streets and the speeds in km/h
were:
45, 52, 46, 46, 49, 51, 50, 45, 43, 54, 46, 52, 53, 50, 49, 48, 47, 48, 50, 49,
52, 49, 52, 48, 47, 46, 49, 50, 50, 51, 52, 49, 48, 50, 49, 51, 49, 48, 46, 47
(a) What was the slowest speed in this sample?

(b) What was the fastest speed in this sample?

(c) Display this information as a dot plot.

(d) What is the mode for this sample?

(e) How many cars were speeding?

2.
The amount of homework Year 8 students did each week is shown in the table below:
(a) What was the mode for the number of hours of homework?

(b) Display this information as a dot plot.

3.
The number of goals kicked in each soccer game of the season is recorded below:
2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 5, 1, 1, 3, 2, 2, 4, 1, 1, 3,
3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 1, 4, 2, 2, 3, 4, 1
(a) Draw up a tally and frequency table for these results.

Goals Kicked Tally Frequency

1
2
3
4
5

(b) What was the mode?

(c) Display this information as a dot plot.

5.
In an experiment, 24 students were asked to guess the length of a piece of string. The string
was exactly 12·5 cm long and the students were asked to estimate to the nearest 0·5 cm.
Their results, in centimetres, were:
13, 12·5, 10, 11·5, 12, 12·5, 12, 11, 10·5, 13·5, 13, 12·5,
13, 14, 14·5, 11·5, 12·5, 12, 13, 13·5, 11, 10·5, 12, 13
(a) What type of data is this?

(b) How many of the students estimated correctly?

(c) Display this data as a dot plot.

(d) How many students gave estimates that were too short?

(e) What was the modal length?

(f) What does the data tell us about the ability of students to estimate length?
Mean, Median, Mode & Range

Mean
The mean of a data set is a measure of its centre. It is calculated by first adding together all
the data values and then dividing the sum by the number of data values.

Symbol for mean:

Example 1.
Allen obtained the following marks in 8 tests:
43 35 41 29 33 39 47 42
Calculate the mean.

Note that the mean was not a mark obtained by Allen in any of his tests.

Median
We often see the median value used to describe the housing market in a city. The median is
the middle value when all values are arranged in numerical order. Here are some numbers
arranged in numerical order.

This data set has an odd number of values. The middle value is 5 since it has the same
number of values on either side of it. Hence the median of this data set is 5.
Here is another set of numbers arranged in numerical order.
The above data set has an even number of values. The middle values are 7 and 9. We take
the average of 7 and 9 to calculate the median.

Hence the median of this data set is 8. Note that this value does not occur in the data set.

Example 2.
Calculate the median of the following data sets.
(a) 43, 35, 41, 29, 33, 39, 42 (b) 4, 6, 8, 5, 12, 10

Mode
One of the questions we often use statistics to answer is ‘Which is the most popular?’ The
most popular or most common value will be the most frequently occurring value in a data
set.
A value with the highest frequency is called the mode. There may be more than one mode.
For example, in a survey of ‘favourite sports’ the following results were obtained.
swimming, golf, golf, badminton, swimming, cricket, golf, swimming, cricket, golf, cricket,
golf, badminton, swimming, swimming, cricket, cricket, golf, swimming, cricket, swimming,
swimming
We can arrange the data into a frequency table.

In the survey above, the sport with the highest frequency is swimming. Hence the mode is
swimming.
Example 3.
The number of emails Annie sent each day was recorded for 30 days. The results are shown
below. Find the mode.

There are two modes for this data, so the data are said to be bimodal.

Range
The range is one of the simplest, and easiest to calculate, measures of the spread of a data
set.
The range of a set of numerical data is the difference between the largest data value and
the smallest data value.
For example:
• The data set 7, 11, 12 has range 12 − 7 = 5.
• The data set 7, 8, 15 has range 15 − 7 = 8.
The larger the range, the greater the spread of the data values.
Exercise 5
1.
Calculate the mean of each data set.
(a) 3, 7, 8, 21, 35 (b) 2, 3, 7, 10, 14, 24

(c) 1, 1, 3, 5, 5, 5, 10 (d) 4, 4, 4, 7, 8, 8, 10, 11

2.
In a football season, the number of kicks obtained by a player week by week was:
22 16 18 31 10 8 19 16 18 12 10 9 16
Calculate the mean number of kicks per week obtained by the player.

3.
Find the median and the range for each of the following data sets.
(a) 8, 6, 12, 4, 1, 9, 15, 3 (b) 18, 26, 47, 13, 18

(c) 1.6, 1.9, 2.4, 1.8, 3.7, 0.9, 2.6, 1.7 (d) 647, 326, 849, 586, 710, 694

4.
The marks obtained for a quiz by a group of students are displayed in the column graph
opposite.
(a) How many students had their marks recorded?

(b) What is the median of the marks?

5.
Twenty people completed a 10-mark test. Their scores are shown in the table below.

(a) Calculate the mean of the marks.

(b) How many people obtained a mark lower than the mean?

6.
Five people have an average weight of 67 kg. If a child of weight 25 kg is added to the
group, what is the average weight?

7.
Part-way through a cricket season, a batsman has had scores of 15, 76, 42 and 27. Assume
that the batsman is dismissed in each innings.
(a) Calculate the batsman’s average (mean).

(b) If his average after the next innings is 42, how many runs did he score in that
innings?

(c) The batsman has 12 innings in a season. He wants to have an average of 50 at the
end of the season. How many runs does he need to score in the remaining 7
innings?
8.
During a term, a student has an average of 46 after the first 4 tests and his average for the
next 6 tests is 38. What is his average for the 10 tests?

9.
(a) Calculate the mean of the data set 8, 12, 14, 17, 18 and 21.

(b) What will happen to the mean (that is, will it decrease or increase) if:
i. a data value of 24 is added to the set

ii. a data value of 15 is added to the set

iii. data values of 6 and 25 are added to the set?

10.
The distinct values a, b, c, d, e and f are arranged here in numerical order, with a having the
least value. Describe the effect on the median and the mean if:
(a) f is increased by 12

(b) the value a is deleted from the list

(c) a is decreased by 6 and f is increased by 6

(d) a is decreased by 16 and f is increased by 6

(e) b and e are both increased (but b is still less than c)

(f) c is increased by 4 (c is still less than d) and b is decreased by 4

11.
A boy receives the following marks for 6 tests: 25, 80, 84, 90, 95 and 96.
(a) Calculate the mean. (b) Calculate the median.

(c) If the value 25 is removed, which changes more: the median or the mean?

(d) Do you need to know all the data values in order to find the median? For example,
suppose that you know 6 tests were done, but you only know 5 scores. Can the
median be calculated?

12.
(a) The median, rather than the mean, is usually given when discussing ages, house
prices and incomes. Why do you think this is the case?

(b) Give other examples in which it would be appropriate to use the median as the
measure of the centre rather than the mean.

(c) Give examples in which it would be appropriate to use the mean as the measure of
the centre rather than the median.
Stem-and-leaf plots

Numerical data (quantitative data) consists of values in which there is a definite numerical
order. For example, scores in a test or heights of students in a class.
A stem-and-leaf plot can be used to represent numerical data.

Example 1.
The marks out of 50 obtained by 16 students in a Mathematics test are:
43 24 29 19 11 14 25 17 32 27 29 7 14 19 39 49
Represent this information on a stem-and-leaf plot.

Example 2.
The approximate heights of 20 students, in centimetres, are given below.
164 158 152 167 146 149 167 171 181 154
167 158 164 172 176 180 178 165 159 153
Represent this information on a stem-and-leaf plot.
Back-to-back stem-and-leaf plots
Back-to-back stem-and-leaf plots are used to compare two similar sets of numerical data,
such as:

• Two tests with the same amount of total marks are given to the same class
and the scores recorded.
• The heights of boys and girls in a group of 50 students are recorded.
• The daily maximum temperatures for June and July are recorded.
• The ages of people attending two theatre productions are recorded.

Example 3.
A class of 25 students sit for two Mathematics tests, each out of 100. Their results are
recorded in the following back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot.

(a) How many students scored 70 or more for each test?

(b) How many students scored less than 50 for each test?
Exercise 6
1.
The marks for a mathematics test done by a particular class of 25 students were:
48 43 29 36 37 21 15 24 35 44 37 35 25
39 28 25 46 37 24 26 42 45 33 47 29
Present this information on a stem-and-leaf plot.

2.
The approximate weights in kilograms of 30 people are:
85 78 94 86 104 93 76 84 95 91 106 89 94 97 91
82 76 93 84 86 79 96 94 81 77 87 82 96 102 86
(a) Present this information on a stem-and-leaf plot.

(b) How many of the 30 people weigh:

i. more than 85 kg ii. less than 90 kg

iii. strictly between 80 and 95 kg?

3.
The stem-and-leaf plot shown opposite displays the marks on an English examination.
(a) How many students did the examination?

(b) How many students scored less than 65?

(c) What percentage of students scored more than 80?

(d) How many scored between 60 and 80?

4.
A class of 16 students sits for two Mathematics tests. Their results are recorded in the
following back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot.

(a) What percentage of students scored 50 or more for:

i. test 1 ii. test 2?

(b) What percentage students scored less than 50 for:

i. test 1 ii. test 2?

(c) What percentage of students scored between 60 and 70 (inclusively) for:

i. test 1 ii. test 2?
5.
Two walking clubs record the ages of their members, as shown below. They both have a
membership of 22 people.
(a) Draw a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot to represent their ages.
Club 1: 82, 82, 78, 78, 78, 73, 73, 73, 73, 72, 69, 67, 67, 65, 34, 25, 24, 23, 16, 13, 12, 11
Club 2: 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 55, 57, 65, 65, 66, 66, 66, 67, 68, 68, 69, 71, 72, 72, 72, 73

(b) Compare the ages of the members of the two clubs.

Line Graphs

 The variables on both axes should be continuous numerical data.

 A line graph consists of a series of points joined by straight line segments.
 Time is often shown on the horizontal axis.

Example: Graph of weight v time

Example 1.
The temperature in a room is noted at hourly intervals.

Time 9.00 am 10.00 am 11.00 am 12.00 pm 1.00 pm

Temperature (oC) 10 15 20 23 18

a. Present the results as a line graph.

b. Use your graph to estimate the room temperature at 12:30 pm.

Exercise 7
1.

a. Complete: The scale on the vertical axis is 1 unit :_________mm of rainfall

b. Which was the wettest month?

c. Which month was the driest?

d. Fill in this table using the graph:

1999 Month J F M A M J

Monthly Rainfall 30

1999 Month J A S O N D

Monthly Rainfall
e. By how much did the rainfall change between February and May?
Was this an increase or a decrease?

f. Which of the following would best describe the rainfall from January to June in 1999?

i. Gradually falling
ii. Gradually increasing
iii. Increasing to a maximum in February, then falling to a low in May,
before increasing in June
iv. Decreasing to a minimum in February, then rising to a high in May,
before decreasing in June.

g. The roads at Mittabong get flooded, such that the town is cut off if there is rainfall of
more than 28mm in a month. How many times do you think the roads were cut off
during 1999?

h. Is it possible that in June 2000, there will be 30mm of rainfall? Explain your answer.

i. The rainfall in the month of January 2000 was 35mm. Complete the graph.
Box-and-whisker plot
Box-and-whisker plots or boxplots are an excellent way of displaying the medians and the
quartiles. They display the following five values, which are known as the five-number
summary:

• minimum score (min)

• lower quartile (Q1) (median of lower half of scores)

• median

• upper quartile (Q3) (median of top half of scores)

• maximum score (max)

Boxplots divide the data into four quarters and so give us a picture of spread.

Example 1.
The list below gives the average number of hours worked by the male employees of a
company:
22, 33, 37, 38, 39, 39, 39, 40, 41, 41, 42, 42, 43, 44
Find the five-number summary for the data and the display the data as a boxplot.
Note: The list is already ordered so we can read off the median and quartiles.
Example 2.
(a) Write a five number summary for the following data:
2, 3, 2, 5, 8, 4, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 2, 6.

Min = Q1 = Med = Q3 = Max =

(b) Draw a box-and-whisker plot to show this.

Example 3.
For the box-and-whisker plot shown, find:

(a) minimum score

(b) lower quartile (Q1)

(c) median score

(d) upper quartile (Q3)

(e) maximum score

Exercise 8
1.
(a) Write a five number summary for the following data:
73, 72, 69, 63, 75, 80, 80, 78, 77.

Min = Q1 = Med = Q3 = Max =

(b) Draw a box-and-whisker plot to show this.

2.
(a) Write a five number summary for the following data:
14, 14, 13, 18, 12, 19, 20, 24, 15, 16, 11.

Min = Q1 = Med = Q3 = Max =

(b) Draw a box-and-whisker plot to show this.

3.
(a) Write a five number summary for the stem and leaf plot.

Min = Q1 = Med = Q3 = Max =

(b) Draw a box-and-whisker plot to show this.

4.
The numbers of people attending a local swimming pool over a four-week period were:
230, 465, 315, 389, 482, 578, 310, 243, 472, 358, 402, 497, 601, 326,
242, 493, 341, 412, 493, 588, 322, 266, 496, 375, 411, 506, 612, 334
Display the data as a boxplot.
5.
A chemicals company was testing three different mixes of fertiliser on a specific plant. The
maximum heights, in metres, of 100 plants for a control sample and each of the three
fertiliser mixes are displayed in the boxplots below.

(a) What is the median height for the control sample and for the fertilised plants?

(b) Which of the fertiliser mixes produced:

i. the shortest plant? ii. the tallest plant?

(c) Which of the fertiliser mixes has the lowest median?

(d) Which of the fertiliser mixes has the highest median?

(e) What is the range for the heights of the control and the fertilised plants?

(f) Which of the fertilisers is most effective? Explain your answer.

(g) A plant company is only interested in the tallest 75% of the plants. Which fertiliser
should they use and why?

(h) Another plant company is only interested in the tallest 25% of the plants. Which
fertiliser should they use and why?
Boxplots with Outliers

Unusually high or low results/data/scores are called outliers and in a boxplot they are
represented by a star, a circle or a cross.

Example 1.
Check for outliers in the number of hours worked by male employees:
22, 33, 37, 38, 39, 39, 39,
40, 41, 41, 42, 42, 43, 44

Note:
When there is an outlier in a sample, it may be an error or just an unusual value. It is
important to go back and look again at the data. In this case, the man who works 22 hours
has not worked hours that are consistent with those of his fellow employees. That may be
because he works part time or has been ill or on holidays.
Exercise 9
1.
The heights, measured in centimetres, of 25 students in a class are:
170 175 133 153 164 189 143 133 167 145
150 164 169 159 177 186 173 164 177 168
142 155 153 167 166
(a) Find Q1, the median and Q3.

(b) Find the interquartile range.

(c) Draw a boxplot, showing any outliers.

2.
The lower and upper quartiles for a data set are 116 and 134. Which of the following data
values would be classified as an outlier? Show all working.

(a) 190 (b) 60 (c) 150

2
3.
The reaction times (in milliseconds) of 20 people are listed here.
38 31 36 39 35 25 35 44 43 44
46 34 62 22 42 48 31 30 45 40
(a) Find the median, Q1, Q3 and the interquartile range.

(b) Construct a boxplot.

(c) Identify any outliers.

(d) Construct a boxplot showing any outliers.