Probability & Statistics

week 2
Topic

Frequency Distributions
&
Their Graphs
Learning Objectives

1. Construct a frequency distribution that includes classes, frequencies,

midpoints, relative frequencies, and cumulative frequencies.

2. Construct frequency histograms, frequency polygons, cumulative

frequency, and ogives.
Frequency Distributions

A frequency distribution is a table that shows classes or intervals of data with a

count of the number in each class. The frequency f of a class is the number of data
points in the class.

Class Frequency, f
1–4 4
Lower Class 5–8 5
Limits 9 – 12 3
13 – 16 4
17 – 20 2
Frequency Distributions

The class width is the distance between lower (or upper) limits of consecutive classes.

Class Frequency, f
1–4 4
5–1=4
5–8 5
9–5=4
9 – 12 3
13 – 9 = 4
13 – 16 4
17 – 13 = 4 17 – 20 2
The class width is 4.
Example

The following data represents the ages of 30 students in a statistics class.

Construct a frequency distribution that has five classes.
Ages of Students
18 20 21 27 29 20
19 30 32 19 34 19
24 29 18 37 38 22
30 39 32 44 33 46
54 49 18 51 21 21
Solution

1. The number of classes (5) is stated in the problem.

2. The minimum data entry is 18 and maximum entry is 54, so the
range is 36. Divide the range by the number of classes to find
the class width.

36
Class width = = 7.2
5
Round up to 8.
Constructing a Frequency Distribution

3. The minimum data entry of 18 may be used for the lower limit of the first
class. To find the lower class limits of the remaining classes, add the width
(8) to each lower limit.

The lower class limits are 18, 26, 34, 42, and 50.

The upper class limits are 25, 33, 41, 49, and 57.

4. Make a tally mark for each data entry in the appropriate class.

5. The number of tally marks for a class is the frequency for that class.
Constructing a Frequency Distribution

Class Telly Frequency, f

18 – 25 13
26 – 33 8
34 – 41 4
42 – 49 3
Check that the sum
50 – 57 2
equals the number
Total -  f  30 in the sample.
Midpoint

The midpoint of a class is the sum of the lower and upper limits of the class
divided by two. The midpoint is sometimes called the class mark.
Midpoint = (Lower class limit) + (Upper class limit)
2
Class Frequency, f Midpoint
1–4 4 2.5

1  4  2.5
Midpoint = 2
Example

Find the midpoints for the “Ages of Students” frequency distribution.

Class Frequency, f Midpoint

18 – 25 13 21.5
26 – 33 8 29.5
34 – 41 4 37.5
42 – 49 3 45.5
50 – 57 2 53.5
Total -
 f  30
Charts & Graphs

 Frequency distributions are good ways to present the essential aspects

of data collections in concise and understable terms

 Pictures are always more effective in displaying large data collections.

 A more attractive method of presenting of data is to make good looking

diagrams and graphs.
Bar Chart

 A bar chart consists of horizontal or vertical bars of equal width and length
proportional to the values which a variable represents.
 One bar is used to represent the frequency for each category.
 The bars are usually positioned vertically with their bases located on the
horizontal axis of the graph
 The bars are separated, and this is why such a graph is frequently used for
nominal and ordinal data – the separation emphasize the plotting of
frequencies for distinct categories
BAR CHART
Frequency Histogram

A histogram consists of a set of adjacent rectangles whose basis are marked off by
class boundaries (not class limits) on the X-axis and whose heights are proportional to
the frequencies associated with respective classes.

A frequency histogram is a bar graph that represents the frequency distribution of a

data set. 1. The horizontal scale is quantitative and measures the data
values.
2. The vertical scale measures the frequencies of the classes.
3. Consecutive bars must touch.
Class Boundaries

Class boundaries are the numbers that separate the classes without
forming gaps between them.

The horizontal scale of a histogram can be marked with either the

class boundaries or the midpoints.

Class boundaries are also known as class limits.

Class Boundaries: Example

Ages of Students
The distance from Class
Class f Boundaries
the upper limit of
the first class to the 18 – 25 13 17.5  25.5
lower limit of the
26 – 33 8 25.5  33.5
second class is 1.
34 – 41 4 33.5  41.5
42 – 49 3 41.5  49.5
Half this 50 – 57 2 49.5  57.5
distance is 0.5.
 f  30
Frequency Histogram

Draw a frequency histogram for the frequency distribution. Use the class boundaries
13
14
Ages of Students
12
10 8
8

f 6 4
3
4 2
2
0
Broken axis 17.5 25.5 33.5 41.5 49.5 57.5
Age (in years)
Cumulative Frequency Graph

A cumulative frequency graph, is a line graph that displays the cumulative

frequency of each class at its upper class boundary.

A cumulative frequency polygon, popularly known as Ogive is a graph obtained

by plotting the cumulated frequencies of a distribution against the upper or lower
class boundaries depending upon whether the accumulation is of the “less than”
or “more than” type, and the points are joined by straight line segments.
Cumulative Frequency Graph

30 Ages of Students
Cumulative frequency
(portion of students)

24

18
The graph ends at
the upper
12 boundary of the
last class.
6

0
17.5 25.5 33.5 41.5 49.5 57.5
Age (in years)
Frequency Polygon

A frequency polygon is a line graph that emphasizes the continuous change in

frequencies.

A frequency polygon is a graphical form of a frequency distribution, which is

constructed by plotting points (xi, fi) where xi is the class-mark of the ith class and fi is
the corresponding frequency.

These points are connected by straight line segments. It is to be noted that polygon is a
closed diagram so end points are also connected to the x-axis assuming zero
frequencies.
Frequency Polygon

14
Ages of Students
12
10
8 Line is extended to
the x-axis.
f 6
4
2
0
13.5 21.5 29.5 37.5 45.5 53.5 61.5
Broken axis
Age (in years) Midpoints
Pie Chart

 The pie chart is an effective way of displaying the percentage breakdown

of data by category.

 Useful if the relative sizes of the data components are to be emphasized

 Pie charts also provide an effective way of presenting ratio- or interval-

scaled data after they have been organized into categories.
PIE CHART
Time Series Graph

 The time series graph is a graph of data that have been measured
over time.

 The horizontal axis of this graph represents time periods and the
vertical axis shows the numerical values corresponding to these
time periods.
TIME SERIES GRAPH
Practice Problem

Consider the following data.

Wages 30 – 49 50 – 69 70 – 89 90 – 109 110 – 129 130 – 149
No. of persons 4 20 23 35 10 8

Determine:
1. Relative frequency distribution
2. Percentage frequency distribution
3. Cumulative frequency distribution
Practice Problem

Make bar chart, histogram, frequency polygon and cumulative frequency polygon
of the given data.

Groups 10 – 14 15 – 19 20 – 24 25 – 29 30 – 34 35 – 39 40 – 44 45 – 49

Frequency 4 8 10 20 15 8 6 2