EMATH 214

Engineering Data Analysis

 Frequency Distribution
When the researcher gather all the data, the next task it
to organize and present them with the use of appropriate
tables and graphs. Frequency distribution is one system
to facilitate the description of important features of the
data.

Features of a Frequency Distribution

1. Class Intervals or Class Limits

2. Class Boundaries
3. Class Marks
4. Class Size
5. Class Frequency
1. Class Intervals or Class Limits
The class interval refers to the grouping defined by a
lower limit and an upper limit. An example is the class
interval of 5 and 9.
5 6 7 8 9
The end numbers 5 and 9 are called the class limits
where 5 is the lower class limit and 9 is the upper class
limit.
2. Class Boundaries
In a continuous data like the weights, scores, etc., the
class interval 5-9 is supposed to start from 4.5 and ends
with 9.5. These are more accurate expressions of the
class limits by at least 0.5. They are named as class
boundaries or the real or true class limits.
3. Class Marks
The class mark is the midpoint or middle value of a class
interval. It is obtained by finding the average of the lower
class limit and the upper class limit.
5 6 7 8 9
The class mark of the class limit 5 to 9 is:
5+9
Class mark = =7
2
4. Class Size
The class size refers to the difference between the upper
class boundary and the lower class boundary of a class
interval. For the class boundaries 4.5 and 9.5 the class
size is:
Class size = (9.5 – 4.5) = 5
 5. Class Frequency
Class frequency means the number of observations
belonging to a class interval.
Constructing the Grouped Frequency Distribution
Let’s utilize the test results in Thermodynamics Quiz of
50 students given in the table below.

88 55 63 62 63 62 88 83 65 79
85 78 83 40 76 51 72 56 63 80
60 90 46 47 85 48 71 54 67 77
75 86 78 55 87 76 70 52 42 76
63 40 90 52 63 72 60 43 73 60
 Steps in Constructing the Grouped
Frequency Distribution
Step 1.
Determine the range (R) of the distribution. The range
refers to the difference between the highest and the
lowest scores.
Range = Highest Score – Lowest score
R = 90 - 40
R = 50
Step 2.
Determine the class size (i) by dividing the range by the
desired number of class intervals. The number of class
intervals, normally is not less than 10 and not more
than 20. Let us use 10.
 𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒
Class size =
𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑠
50
i=
10
i=5
Step 3.
When the class size is 5, all the lower limits must be
multiple of 5. The lower class interval should include
the lowest score while the highest class interval must
contain the highest score.
Step 4.
Find the class marks of the class intervals. For
example, the class limit of 50 and 54.
50+54
Class mark = = 52
2
Step 5.
Tally the frequencies for each interval and sum them.
The Table below shows the completed grouped
frequency distribution.
Class Interval Class Marks Tally Marks Frequency
90 - 94 92 II 2
85 – 89 87 IIIII-I 6
80 – 84 82 III 3
75 – 79 77 IIIII-III 8
70 – 74 72 IIIII 5
65 – 69 67 II 2
60 – 64 62 IIIII-IIIII 10
55 – 59 57 III 3
50 – 54 52 IIII 4
45 – 49 47 III 3
40 - 44 42 IIII 4
TOTAL 50