Frequency Distributions

and Graphs

Lecturer: Killion Amollo

Lecture (2)
2-1 Organizing Data
■ Data collected in original form is called raw
data.
■ For example: Score f
Raw Data 8 3
7 2
2 5 8 7 2 2
6 3
6 8 5 2 5 7 5 4
4 5 6 2 8 6 4 1
2 5
❑ Each raw data value is placed into a quantitative or
qualitative category called a class.

❑ A class then is the number of data values contained in

a specific class called frequency .
■ A frequency distribution is the organization of raw data in
table form, using classes and frequencies.

Two types of frequency distribution

Categorical Frequency Grouped Frequency

Distributions Distributions

Used for data that can be When the range of the data
placed in specific is large data is grouped into
categories (nominal or classes that are more than
ordinal level data). one unit in width
Categorical Frequency Distributions
For example: Twenty-five army indicates were given a blood test to
determine their blood type.

% = f/n*100

Class Tally Frequency Percent

(f) %
A IIII 5 5/25*100=20
B IIII II 7 7/25*100=35
O IIII IIII 9 9/25*100=45
AB IIII 4 4/25*100=16
Total n=25
Grouped Frequency Distributions
❑ Class limits ❑Class boundaries
❑ Lower class limit ❑Upper class boundaries
❑Upper class limit ❑Lower class boundaries
Lower Upper
class class

Class Class Tally Frequency

limits boundaries
First
class 24-30 23.5-30.5 /// 3
second 31-37 30.5-37.5 / 1
class
38-44 37.5-44.5 //// 5
45-51 44.5-51.5 //// //// 9
52-58 51.5-58.5 //// / 6
59-65 58.5-65.5 / 1

.
• In this distribution, the values 24 and 30 of the
first class are called “class limits”.
• 24 is the “lower class limit” and 30 is the “upper
class limit.”

•The numbers in the second column are called

class boundaries.
•The class boundaries are used to separate the class
so that there is no gap in frequency distribution.
Lower boundary= lower limit - 0.5
Upper boundary= upper limit + 0.5
❑Class limits should have the same decimal place value
as the data, but the class boundaries should have one
additional place value and end in a 5.

For example:
Class limit 7.8-8.8
Class boundary 7.75-8.85

Lower boundary= lower limit - 0.05

=7.8- 0.05 =7.75

Upper boundary= upper limit + 0.05

=8.8+0.05=8.85
The lower class limit represents the smallest data value that
can be included in the class.

The upper class limit represents the largest data value that
can be included in the class.
❑The numbers are used to separate the classes so that
there are no gaps in the frequency distribution called
class boundaries

Questions ???
Find the class boundaries for each class ?

2.15 – 3.93

49.005
❑ The class width is found by subtracting the lower
(or upper) class limit of one class from the lower (or
upper) class limit of the next class .
Class width=lower of second class limit-lower of first class limit
Class width=upper of first class boundary -lower of first class
boundary

For example:
Class limits Class boundaries

class width
24-30 23.5-30.5
class width
31-37 30.5-37.5

class width : 31-24 = 7

❑The class midpoint Xm is found by adding the lower and
upper class limit (or boundary) and dividing by 2 .

Xm =

Or

Xm =

For example :
Rules for Classes in Grouped Frequency Distributions
1. There should be 5-20 classes.
2. The class width should be an odd number.
3. The classes must be mutually exclusive.
Age Age
10-20 10-20
Better way to construct a
20-30 21-31
frequency distribution
30-40 32-42
40-50 43-53
50-60 54-64

4. The classes must be continuous.

5. The classes must be exhaustive.

6. The classes must be equal in width

(except in open-ended distributions).

Constructing a Grouped Frequency
Distribution
1- The following data represent the record high
temperatures for each of the 50 states. Construct a grouped
frequency distribution for the data using 7 classes.

112 100 127 120 134 118 105 110 109 112
110 118 117 116 118 122 114 114 105 109
107 112 114 115 118 117 118 122 106 110
116 108 110 121 113 120 119 111 104 111
120 113 120 117 105 110 118 112 114 114
STEP 1 Determine the classes.
Find the class width by dividing the range by the number of
classes 7.

Range = High – Low

= 134 – 100 = 34
Rou
nd u
p
Width = Range/7 = 34/7 ≈ 4.9=5
Step 2 : Tally the data.
Step 3 : Find the frequencies.

Class Cumulative
Class Limits Frequency
Boundaries Frequency
100 - 104 99.5 - 104.5 2 0
105 - 109 104.5 - 109.5 8 2
110 - 114 109.5 - 114.5 18 10
115 - 119 114.5 - 119.5 13 28
120 - 124 119.5 - 124.5 7 41
125 - 129 124.5 - 129.5 1 48
130 - 134 129.5 - 134.5 1 49
50
2- The data shown here represent the number of miles per
gallon that 30 selected four-wheel- drive sports utility
vehicles obtained in city driving.

12 17 12 14 16 18
16 18 12 16 17 15
15 16 12 15 16 16
12 14 15 12 15 15
19 13 16 18 16 14
Range = High – Low

= 19 – 12 = 7

So the class consisting of the single data value can be

used. They are 12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19.

❑ This type of distribution is called ungrouped

frequency distribution
Class Cumulative
Class Limits Frequency
Boundaries Frequency
12 11.5-12.5 6 0
13 12.5-13.5 1 6
14 13.5-14.5 3 7
15 14.5-15.5 6 10
16 15.5-16.5 8 16
17 16.5-17.5 2 24
18 17.5-18.5 3 26
19 18.5-19.5 1 29
30
Find the class boundary , midpoint of the last class
and the class width?

Class Frequency
4-9 2
10-15 4
16-21 3
22-27 8
28-33 5
Solution

Class Boundaries
4-9 3.5 – 9.5
10-15 9.5-15.5
16-21 15.5-21.5
22-27 21.5-27.5
28-33 27.5-33.5

Xm =

Class width= 10 - 4 = 6
Histograms, Frequency
Polygons, and Ogives
For Continuous Data
The three most commonly used graphs in research
are as follows:

1. The histogram
2. The frequency polygon
3. The cumulative frequency graph, or Ogive
Histogram

The histogram is a graph that displays the data by

using contiguous vertical bars (unless the frequency
of a class is 0) of various heights to represent the
frequencies of the classes.

❑The class boundaries are represented on the

horizontal axis
( On x-axis ,put class boundaries .On y-axis ,put
frequency ).
Example 2-4:
Construct a histogram to represent the data for the
record high temperatures for each of the 50 states (see
Example 2–2 for the data).

Class Limits Class Boundaries Frequency

100 - 104 99.5 - 104.5 2
105 - 109 104.5 - 109.5 8
110 - 114 109.5 - 114.5 18
115 - 119 114.5 - 119.5 13
120 - 124 119.5 - 124.5 7
125 - 129 124.5 - 129.5 1
130 - 134 129.5 - 134.5 1
❑ Histograms use class boundaries and frequencies of
the classes.
Frequency polygons

The frequency polygon is a graph that displays the data

by using lines that connect points plotted for the frequencies
at the midpoints of the classes. The frequencies are
represented by the heights of the points.

❑The class midpoints are represented on the

horizontal axis.
( On x-axis ,put class midpoints .On y-axis
,put frequency ).
Example 2-5:
Construct a frequency polygon to represent the
data for the record high temperatures for each of
the 50 states (see Example 2–2 for the data).
Class
Class Limits Frequency
Midpoints
100 - 104 102 2
105 - 109 107 8
110 - 114 112 18
115 - 119 117 13
120 - 124 122 7
125 - 129 127 1
130 - 134 132 1
❑ Frequency polygons use class midpoints and frequencies of
the classes.

A frequency polygon
is anchored on the
x-axis before the first
class and after the
last class.
Cumulative Frequency Graphs Or Ogives

❑ The ogive is a graph that represents the cumulative

frequencies for the classes in a frequency distribution
❑ Cumulative frequency distribution is a distribution that
shows the number of data values less than or equal t a specific
value .
❑ The upper class boundaries are represented on
the horizontal axis
( On x-axis ,put upper class boundaries .On
y-axis ,put cumulative frequency ).
Example 2-6:
Construct an ogive to represent the data for the
record high temperatures for each of the 50 states
(see Example 2–2 for the data).

Class Limits Class Boundaries Frequency

100 - 104 99.5 - 104.5 2
105 - 109 104.5 - 109.5 8
110 - 114 109.5 - 114.5 18
115 - 119 114.5 - 119.5 13
120 - 124 119.5 - 124.5 7
125 - 129 124.5 - 129.5 1
130 - 134 129.5 - 134.5 1
Class Limits Class Boundaries Frequency
100 - 104 99.5 - 104.5 2
105 - 109 104.5 - 109.5 8
110 - 114 109.5 - 114.5 18
115 - 119 114.5 - 119.5 13
120 - 124 119.5 - 124.5 7
125 - 129 124.5 - 129.5 1
130 - 134 129.5 - 134.5 1

Cumulative
Class Boundaries
Frequency
Less than 99.5 0
Less than 104.5 2
Less than 109.5 10
Less than 114.5 28
Less than 119.5 41
Less than 124.5 48
Less than 129.5 49
Less than 134.5 50
❑ Cumulative frequency is the sum of the frequencies
accumulated up t the upper boundary of a class in
the distortion .
❑ Ogives use upper class boundaries and cumulative
frequencies of the classes.

Note: This PowerPoint is only a summary and your main source should be the book.
The Relative Frequency
❑ The distribution using proportions instead f raw data as
frequencies called relative frequency .
Example 2-7:
Construct a histogram, frequency polygon, and ogive using
relative frequencies for the distribution (shown here) of the
miles that 20 randomly selected runners ran during a given
week.
Class
Frequency
Boundaries
5.5 - 10.5 1
10.5 - 15.5 2
15.5 - 20.5 3
20.5 - 25.5 5
25.5 - 30.5 4
30.5 - 35.5 3
35.5 - 40.5 2
Histograms
The following is a frequency distribution of miles
run per week by 20 selected runners.

Class Frequency Relative

Boundaries (f) Frequency
5.5 - 10.5 1 1/20 = 0.05
10.5 - 15.5 2 2/20 = 0.10
15.5 - 20.5 3 3/20 = 0.15
20.5 - 25.5 5 5/20 = 0.25 The sum of
25.5 - 30.5 4 4/20 = 0.20 the relative
30.5 - 35.5 3 3/20 = 0.15 frequencies
35.5 - 40.5 2 2/20 = 0.10 will always
Σf = 20 Σrf = 1.00 be 1
❑Use the class boundaries and the relative frequencies
of the classes.
Frequency Polygons
The following is a frequency distribution of miles
run per week by 20 selected runners.

Class Class Relative

Boundaries Midpoints Frequency
5.5 - 10.5 8 0.05
10.5 - 15.5 13 0.10
15.5 - 20.5 18 0.15
20.5 - 25.5 23 0.25
25.5 - 30.5 28 0.20
30.5 - 35.5 33 0.15
35.5 - 40.5 38 0.10
❑Use the class midpoints and the relative frequencies
of the classes.
Ogives
The following is a frequency distribution of miles run
per week by 20 selected runners.

Class Cumulative Cum. Rel.

Frequency
Boundaries Frequency Frequency
5.5 - 10.5 1 0 0 0
10.5 - 15.5 2 1 1/20 = 0.05
15.5 - 20.5 3 3 3/20 = 0.15
20.5 - 25.5 5 6 6/20 = 0.30
25.5 - 30.5 4 11 11/20 = 0.55
30.5 - 35.5 3 15 15/20 = 0.75
35.5 - 40.5 2 18 18/20 = 0.90
Σf = 20 20 20/20 = 1.00
❑ Ogives use upper class boundaries and cumulative
frequencies of the classes.

Cum. Rel.
Class Boundaries
Frequency
Less than 5.5 0
Less than 10.5 0.05
Less than 15.5 0.15
Less than 20.5 0.30
Less than 25.5 0.55
Less than 30.5 0.75
Less than 35.5 0.90
Less than 40.5 1.00
❑Use the upper class boundaries and the cumulative
relative frequencies.
Shapes of Distributions
Flat

J shaped:few data values on left side and increases as one moves to right
Reverse J shaped: opposite of the j-shaped distribution
Positively skewed Negatively skewed

.
Other Types of Graphs

Several other types of graphs are often used in

statistics. We will discuss three other types of graphs
as follows:

1. A bar graph
2. A Pareto chart
3. The Time series graph
4. The Pie graph
❑A bar graph represents the data by using vertical or horizontal
bars whose heights or lengths represent the frequencies of the
data .

When the data are

qualitative or
categorical
,bar graphs can be used.
Page (70)

.
❑A Pareto chart is used to represent a frequency distribution
for a categorical variable, and the frequencies are displayed by
the heights of vertical bars, which are arranged in order from
highest to lowest.

Pareto chart
When the variable
displayed on the
horizontal axis is
qualitative or
categorical, a
Pareto chart can be used
❑ A time series graph represents data that occur
over a specific period of time.

When data are

collected over a
period of time,
they can be
represented by a
time series graph
(line chart)

Compound time series graph: when two data sets

are compared on the same graph.(Page 73)
❑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.

❑The purpose of the pie graph is to show

the relationship of the parts to the whole
by visually comparing the sizes of the
sections.
❑Percentages or proportions can be used.
❑The variable is nominal or categorical.
Example 2-12:
Construct a pie graph showing the blood types of the army
inductees described in example 2-1 .
Class Frequency percent
A 5 20%
B 7 28%
O 9 36%
AB 4 16%
Total 25 100%

%
Shown in figure 2-15
❑A stem and leaf plots is a data plot that uses part of a data
value as the stem and part of the data value as the leaf to
form groups or classes.
❑The stem and leaf plot is a method of organizing data and is
a combination of sorting and graphing.

❑ It has the advantage over a grouped frequency distribution of

retaining the actual data while showing them in graphical
form.
stem leaves
- 24 is shown as 2 4

-35 is shown as 3 5
Example 2-13:

At an outpatient testing center, the number of cardiograms

performed each day for 20 days is shown. Construct a stem
and leaf plot for the data.

25 31 20 32 13
14 43 0257 23
36 32 33 32 44
32 52 44 51 45
25 31 20 32 13
14 43 0257 23
36 32 33 32 44
32 52 44 51 45
Unordered Stem Plot Ordered Stem Plot

0 2
0 2
1 3 4 1 3 4
2 5 0 3 2 0 3 5
3 1 2 6 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 3 6
4 3 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 5
5 7 2 1 5 1 2 7
Example 1 :
Data in ordered array: stem leaves
21, 24, 24, 26, 27, 27, 41
2 1 4 4 6 7 7
3
4 1

Example 2 :
Data in ordered array: stem leaves
324 , 327 , 330 , 332 , 335 , 341 , 345
32 4 7
33 0 2 5
34 1 5
Quantitative Qualitative
or Categorical
Histograms bar graph
Frequency Polygons Pareto chart
Ogives Pie graph
The Time series graph
stem and leaf plots