Chap 12

Data and
graphs
12
Jemma has been asked by
the club president to
analyse the results of her
AFL football team for a
season. The points scored in
22 matches were:
85, 96, 118, 93, 73, 71, 98, 77,
106, 64, 73, 88, 62, 97, 104,
85, 73, 92, 62, 76, 90, 79.
What conclusions can you
draw from these data? The
data as listed are difficult to
work with so we need to
present them in a way that
makes them easier to
analyse.
This chapter looks at
various ways of displaying
data as well as different
measures which describe
aspects of the data.
areyou 548 Maths Quest 8 for Victoria
Are you ready? READY?

Try the questions below. If you have difficulty with any of them, extra help can be
obtained by completing the matching SkillSHEET. Either click on the SkillSHEET icon
next to the question on the Maths Quest 8 CD-ROM or ask your teacher for a copy.
12.2 Reading scales. (How much is each interval worth?)

1 On each of the following scales, state what each interval is worth.
a 4 5
b 60 80
c 0 100
Increase in Timmy’s height
Reading line graphs
170 between 2001 and 2006
12.3 2 The line graph at right shows the height of
160
a child (Timmy) over 5 years.
a How tall was Timmy at the start of the measurement 150
Height (cm)
period? 140
b How much did Timmy grow in the first year? 130
c How much did Timmy grow over the five years?
d How many years did it take for Timmy to grow 120
10 cm? 110
100
Producing a frequency table from a frequency histogram 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
12.4 Years
3 Copy and complete the following frequency table to
show the data represented in the frequency histogram.
8
Score (x) Frequency (f) 7
6
Frequency
20 5 5
4
21 3
2
22
1
23 0
20 21 22 23 24
24 Score
12.7
12.5 Finding the mean
4 a Find the sum of the following data: 6, 3, 5, 4, 5, 4, 6, 7.
b Divide this sum by the number of items in the data set.
Arranging a set of data in ascending order
12.8 5 Arrange each of the following sets of data in ascending order.
a 25, 20, 22, 21, 29, 34, 25
b 215, 381, 276, 345, 298, 277, 325, 400, 304
c 4.6, 0.3, 3.6, 5.8, 2.9, 1.8, 3.5, 5.8, 3.1, 2.8, 3.6
12.12
12.9
12.8 Finding the score in a data set that occurs most frequently
6 For each of the following data sets, find the score that occurs most frequently.
a 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5
b 23, 29, 25, 24, 23, 21, 25, 26, 25, 29
c 7, 12, 8, 3, 5, 11, 8, 4, 2, 1, 6, 10, 13
Chapter 12 Data and graphs 549
Data collection and organisation
Information or data is constantly being collected.
Different organisations collect different types of data.
For example, at a cricket match, some of the
statistics gathered for a batsman are: time spent
batting, the number of balls faced, the runs off a par-
ticular delivery, where the ball was hit, the number of
4s or 6s hit, and so on. Once the data is collected, it
can be organised, analysed and interpreted.
Data can be collected from existing sources (such
as government records), from experiments or by
observation.
A survey is the process of collecting data. If
every member of a target population is surveyed,
the process is called a census. A census is con-
ducted in Australia every 5 years to obtain an accurate profile of Australians. On
census night each person in Australia is required to complete a detailed booklet con-
taining a series of questions relating to age, marital status, employment, income,
housing, education, modes of transport and so on. This allows the government to ana-
lyse the population and make decisions on how to improve services.
Due to limitations in time, cost and practicality, in many cases a sample of the popu-
lation is selected at random (not in any particular order or pattern) to prevent biased
(leaning in a favoured direction) results.
A sample can give us an indication of what the whole population is like.
Consider these situations:
1. You cook a batch of muffins to take to a party. Naturally, you want to test whether they
turned out well. Do you eat the whole population of cakes as a check?
2. A factory produces 400 cars
per day.
Should there be a crash-test of
every car before it is sold to the
public?
In both cases it is not practical
or viable to test each item. There-
fore, a sample needs to be taken.
The following investigations require you to research different ways to obtain un–
biased samples and conduct surveys.
COMMUNICATION Samples and surveys

Find out how samples are chosen and surveys conducted for:
a television program ratings
b top 10 songs, videos and movies.
550 Maths Quest 8 for Victoria
THINKING Bias
It is important that a sample is chosen randomly to avoid bias.
Consider the following situation.
The government wants to improve sporting facilities in Melbourne. They decide
to survey 1000 people about what facilities they would like to see improved. To
do this, they choose the first 1000 people through the gate at a football match at
the Telstra Dome.
In this situation it is likely that the results will be biased towards improving
facilities for football. It is also unlikely that the survey will be representative of
the whole population in terms of equality between men and women, age of the
participants and ethnic backgrounds.
Questions can also create bias. Consider asking the question, ‘Is football your
favourite sport?’ The question invites the response that football is the favourite
sport rather than allowing a free choice from a variety of sports by the respondent.
Consider each of the following surveys and discuss:
a any advantages, disadvantages and possible causes of bias
b a way in which a truly representative sample could be obtained.
1 Surveying food product choices by interviewing customers of a large
supermarket chain as they emerge from the store between 9.00 am and 2.00 pm
on a Wednesday.
2 Researching the popularity of a government decision by stopping people at
random in a central city mall.
3 Using a telephone survey of 500 people selected at random from the phone book
to find if all Australian States should have Daylight Saving Time in summer.
4 A bookseller uses a public library database to survey for the most popular
novels over the last three months.
5 An interview survey about violence in sport taken at a football venue as
spectators leave.
DESIGN Collecting data for surveys and
questionnaires
Great care must be taken when framing questions to collect data by post or by
personal interview. It is common for people to misunderstand the point of a question.
The answers to the questions must be in a form that makes them easy to collate.
Designing a questionnaire
When designing a questionnaire it is important to keep these key principles in mind.
1 Know exactly what kind of data you are after before you start framing the questions.
2 Adapt the questions to suit the target population.
3 Word each question for clarity and courtesy.
4 Keep the answers’ format as simple as possible. Some of the ways of doing this are:
a circling or recording a number
b ticking a box
c Yes/No/Don’t know
d a scaled rating, such as the one below
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Totally Strongly Moderately Neither Moderately Strongly Totally

disagree disagree disagree agree agree agree agree
nor
disagree
e a single word.
5 Arrange all questions in a clear, uncluttered layout.
6 Go for the minimum possible number of questions.
7 Trial your best efforts on several people from the target group and rewrite as
necessary.
The members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) have drafted a
questionnaire regarding their role in the school.
Making your SRC work

1 In your opinion, how has the SRC gone about achieving its goals of the past year?
2 In your opinion, what should the SRC try to achieve this year?
3 If the SRC were to fundraise for a specific school-based project, what would be
some realistic ideas you could offer that the money could go to?
4 To what extent are you prepared to support and assist your leaders this year?
(continued)
Each of these questions is open-ended. This means that the possible responses
are unlimited and will be difficult to collate.
A more effective questionnaire follows.
1 In your opinion did the SRC achieve its goals last year?
YES / NO / DON’T KNOW
2 On a scale of 1 (very unimportant) to 5 (very important) rate the following goals
of this year’s SRC.
a Improve sporting facilities for the school.
b Establish a senior study room.
c Have a separate canteen line for Year 8 students.
3 Rank the following fundraising projects from 1 to 4.
Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal
Two new computers for the library for student Internet access
Replacement of worn sporting equipment
50 CAS calculators for student use.
4 I am prepared to assist with ALL / SOME / A FEW / NONE of the SRC

activities over the next year.
These questions are much easier to collate and produce a snapshot of school
opinion about the SRC.
Now design a questionnaire of your own for one of the following issues.
1 Are school uniforms needed?
2 Are wages for teenage workers reasonable?
3 More leisure activities are required for teenagers.
4 There is too much violence in computer games, in movies and on television.
5 There is a need for a new Australian flag.
6 Compulsory military service should be introduced for 18-year-olds
7 Speed limits throughout Australia should be changed.
8 Which radio stations throughout Australia are most popular?
The results to a questionnaire can be tabulated using a database. Investigate how you
may be able to do this.
Tables and charts
It is far better to present data in an organised manner rather than leave them in their raw
form. The simplest way to sort and display information is to form a table or chart. Hor-
izontal rows and vertical columns intersect to form boxes in which the data are given.
WORKED Example 1
This table represents the
prices at Franky’s Fast Food product Standard Large Family
Foods. Use the table to Fries $1.50 $2.50 $4.00
answer the following:
Chicken nuggets $2.00 $3.50 $5.50
a What is the cost of a
large homemade pie? Homemade pies $1.80 $3.00 $5.00
b Which is more $4.95 $6.95 $9.95
Whole BBQ chicken
expensive, a family
lasagne or a family Lasagne $1.95 $3.95 $6.95
whole chicken?
c How much more is paid for large fries than for a standard serving?
d What is the total cost of a family chicken and family fries?
e How much change would there be from
$50 after buying 2 large fries, 3
large nuggets and a standard
lasagne?
f Considering all products,
about how many times
the cost of a standard
serving (to the nearest
whole number) is the
cost of a family serving?
g Based on your answer to
part f, if a standard size
pizza was $6.00 at this shop,
what would you expect a family
pizza to cost?
THINK WRITE
a 1 Obtain the cost of a large homemade a
pie by reading directly from the Product Standard Large Family
table. Refer to the cell in which the Fries $1.50 $2.50 $4.00
Homemade pies row intersects with
the ‘Large’ column. Chicken $2.00 $3.50 $5.50
nuggets
Homemade $1.80 $3.00 $5.00

pies
2 Answer the question. The cost of a large homemade pie is $3.00.

Continued over page
THINK WRITE
b 1 Obtain the price of a family lasagne. b Cost of a family lasagne = $6.95

2 Obtain the price of a whole family Cost of a whole family chicken = $9.95
chicken.
3 Compare the prices. A whole family chicken is more expensive
4 Answer the question. than a family lasagne.
c 1 Obtain the price of large fries. c Cost of large fries = $2.50

2 Obtain the price of standard fries. Cost of standard fries = $1.50
3 Subtract the price of standard fries Difference = large fries − standard fries
from large fries. = $2.50 − $1.50
= $1.00
4 Answer the question. Large fries cost $1.00 more than standard
fries.
d 1 Obtain the cost of a whole family d Cost of whole family chicken = $9.95
chicken.
2 Obtain the cost of family fries. Cost of family fries = $4.00
3 Add the two amounts. Total cost = family chicken + family fries
= $9.95 + $4.00
= $13.95
4 Answer the question. The total cost of a family chicken and family
fries is $13.95.
e 1 Obtain the cost of 2 large fries. e Cost of large fries = 2 × $2.50

= $5.00
2 Obtain the cost of 3 large nuggets. Cost of 3 large nuggets = 3 × $3.50
= $10.50
3 Obtain the cost of a standard Cost of a standard lasagne = $1.95
lasagne.
4 Add the 3 amounts. Total = $5.00 + $10.50 + $1.95
= $17.45
5 Subtract the total amount obtained in Change = $50.00 − $17.45
step 4 from $50. = $32.55
6 Answer the question. The change received from fifty dollars is
$32.55.
Family fries 4.00

f 1 Divide each family product by its f --------------------------------- = ----------
Standard fries 1.50
respective standard product.
2 Round the answer to the nearest = 2.67 (≈ 3)
whole number.
THINK WRITE
Note: If the digit in the first decimal Family nuggets 5.50
----------------------------------------- = ----------
place is greater than or equal to 5, Standard nuggets 2.00
round the value up. = 2.75 (≈ 3)
Family pies 5.00
-------------------------------- = ----------
Standard pies 1.80
= 2.78 (≈ 3)
Family chicken 9.95
----------------------------------------- = ----------
Note: If the digit in the first decimal Standard chicken 4.95
place is less than 5, round the value = 2.01 (≈ 2)
down. Family lasagne 6.95
---------------------------------------- = ----------
Standard lasagne 1.95
= 3.56 (≈ 4)
3 Answer the question. On average, the cost of a family product is
3 times the cost of its respective standard
product.
g 1 To obtain the family price of a g Family pizza ≈ 3 × $6.00

product, multiply the standard price = $18.00
by 3.
2 Answer the question. A family pizza would cost approximately
$18.00.
remember
1. Tables and charts should include:
(a) an appropriate title
(b) clear headings for columns
(c) clear labels for rows
(d) well-spaced data for easy reading.
2. Tables are read by looking at the combination of a row and a column.
12A Tables and charts

WORKED 1 This table shows the maximum and minimum daily temperatures in a city over a one- Math
Example
week period.
cad
1
Tables
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and
charts
Maximum (°C) 26 25 27 25 24 22 23
Minimum (°C) 18 18 19 17 17 16 16
Use the table to answer the following:

a What was the maximum temperature on day 5?
b Which day(s) had the lowest minimum temperature?
c Which day was the hottest?
d Which day had the warmest minimum temperature?
e What was the temperature range (variation) on day 3?
f Which day had the smallest range of temperatures?
g What would you expect the maximum and minimum temperatures to be on day 8?
2 The cost of entry to Wild and Wet theme park is shown in this table:
Number of
children
(under 15) 0 1 2 3 4
Number of
adults
0 0 $16 $30 $42 $55
1 $30 $46 $60 $72 $85
2 $58 $88 $100 $113
3 $84 $100 $126 $139
4 $100 $116 $130 $155
Parties of over 4 adults and 4 children by special arrangement

a What is the cost of entry for 3 children with no adults?
b What is the cost of entry for 2 adults and no children?
c Which is more expensive, the cost of entry for 2 adults and 3 children or the cost of
entry for 1 adult and 4 children? What is the difference in cost?
d Fill in the costs left blank.
e How much does each adult save by going in a party of four adults rather than going
alone?
f How much change from $150 would there be after a group of 2 adults and 4 children
paid the admission?
g Complete this sentence describing the overall pattern of costs.
The greater the number of people in a group, the _____________ .
h Four Year 8 students decided to go together to the Wild and Wet. How much did each
student pay?
3 The country is divided into local

telephone zones. If you ring outside
of your area, you are making an
STD (subscriber trunk dialling) call.
These phone calls are charged at
two rates depending on the day and
what time of day you are making
the call (and on what plan you have
with the phone company). Peak
charges apply to STD calls made
between 7 am and 7 pm Monday to
Friday. Off-peak rates apply to STD
calls made at all other times.
The following table shows the cost
of making STD calls for the two
rates.
Call duration
Rate 1 min 3 min 5 min 10 min 20 min 30 min
Peak 25c 75c $1.25 $2.50 $5.00 $7.50
Off-peak 18c 54c $1.90c $1.80 $3.60 $5.40
a Use the table to calculate the cost of a 3-minute call:

iii at 1.00 pm on Monday iii at 8 pm on Tuesday
iii at any time on Sunday iv at 2 am on Wednesday
iv at 6.30 pm on Thursday.
b Use the table to calculate the cost of each of the following calls:
iii 10 min call at 5 pm on Saturday iii 5 min call at 9.30 am on Friday
iii 1 min call at 10 pm on Monday iv 30 min call at 3 pm on Sunday
iv 20 min call at 1.20 pm on Tuesday.
4 Satri decides to travel by train to Geometric for a holiday with relatives. The timetable
for the Silver Streak Train Line is provided below.
Timetable — Silver Streak Train Line

Mathsville to Daily Every Saturday and
Geometric Monday–Friday Monday Sunday
Mathsville 7.00 am 6.00 pm 7.30 am
Integral 7.45 6.45 8.15
Addsville 9.30 8.30 10.00
Greater Rock 10.30 9.30 11.00
Pronumeral Arrive 11.30 10.30 12.00 noon
Meal Break Leave 12.30 pm no stop 1.00 pm
Halftown 1.20 11.20 1.50
Wholetown 2.25 12.25 am 2.55
Geometric 3.05 1.05 3.35
Use the timetable to answer the following.

a If Satri left on Saturday, what time would she arrive at Geometric?
b On what day(s) could she catch an evening train?
c How long does the journey from Mathsville to Geometric take?
d Where does the train stop for a meal? For how long?
e At what time does the Monday evening train pass through Wholetown?
f If Satri took the Wednesday morning train and slept from 1.00 to 2.30 pm, what
towns would she miss seeing?
g If Satri wants to connect with a Friday 1400 hours flight out of Geometric and the
train (leaving Friday morning) is running on time, should she be able to make it?
Explain.
Questions 5 and 6 refer to the following table for International Parcel Post to zones
A–C to calculate charges for posting parcels overseas.
Air Economy Sea EMS EMS

Parcel mass and zones Mail Air Mail Documents Merchandise
Zone A New Zealand
Over 250 g up to 500 g $9.00 $8.00 — $30.00 $37.00
Over 500 g up to 750 g $12.50 $11.00 — $34.50 $41.50
Over 750 g up to 1000 g $15.50 $13.50 — $34.50 $41.50
Over 1000 g up to 1250 g $19.00 $16.00 — $39.00 $46.00
Over 1250 g up to 1500 g $22.00 $19.00 — $39.00 $46.00
Over 1500 g up to 1750 g $25.50 $22.00 — $43.50 $50.50
Over 1750 g up to 2000 g $28.50 $24.50 — $43.50 $50.50
Extra 500 g or part thereof $3.50 $3.00 — $4.50 $4.50
Zone B Asia Pacific
Over 250 g up to 500 g $11.00 $9.50 — $32.00 $39.00
Over 500 g up to 750 g $15.50 $13.00 — $38.50 $45.50
Over 750 g up to 1000 g $19.50 $16.00 — $38.50 $45.50
Over 1000 g up to 1250 g $24.00 $19.50 — $45.00 $52.00
Over 1250 g up to 1500 g $28.00 $22.50 — $45.00 $52.00
Over 1500 g up to 1750 g $32.50 $26.00 — $51.50 $58.50
Over 1750 g up to 2000 g $36.50 $29.00 — $51.50 $58.50
Extra 500 g or part thereof $4.50 $3.50 — $6.50 $6.50
Zone C
USA/Canada/Middle East
Over 250 g up to 500 g $13.00 $11.00 $6.00 $35.00 $42.00
Over 500 g up to 750 g $18.50 $15.50 $12.50 $43.50 $50.50
Over 750 g up to 1000 g $23.50 $19.50 $15.50 $43.50 $50.50
Over 1000 g up to 1250 g $29.00 $24.00 $19/00 $52.00 $59.00
Over 1250 g up to 1500 g $34.00 $28.00 $22.00 $52.00 $59.00
Over 1500 g up to 1750 g $49.50 $32.00 $25.50 $60.50 $67.50
Over 1750 g up to 2000 g $44.50 $36.50 $28.50 $60.50 $67.50
Extra 500 g or part thereof $6.50 $5.50 $3.50 $8.50 $8.50
Source: Australia Post

5 Use the International Parcel Post table on page 559 to find the total cost to send, from
Australia:
a a 700-g parcel to New Zealand (zone A) by Air Mail
b a 2.3-kg parcel to the USA (zone C) by Economy Air
c a 1.8-kg document to China (zone B) by EMS Documents
d a 4-kg parcel to Malaysia (zone B) by Air Mail
e a 6-kg parcel to Egypt (zone C) by Economy Air
f a 300-g parcel to Japan (zone B) by Air Mail
g a 420-g parcel to Fiji (zone B) by Economy Air
h a 3.9-kg parcel to Canada (zone C) by Sea Mail
i an 8-kg parcel to Papua New Guinea (zone B) by Air Mail
j 11 kg of merchandise to India (zone B) by EMS.
6 How much more does it cost to post a 10-kg parcel to Indonesia (in zone B) by Air
Mail than by Economy Air?
COMMUNICATION Staying alive

The table at right shows the
Fatalities
comparison of road deaths in
per 100 000
2001 between NSW and other
State/Territory Killed population
states.
Source: Australian Bureau of New South Wales 524 7.9
Statistics and NSW Roads and Victoria 444 9.2
Traffic Authority Queensland 324 8.9
Use the table to answer the Western Australia 165 10.1
following questions. South Australia 153 8.6
Tasmania 61 12.9
1 Which state or territory had: Northern Territory 50 25.3
a the most road fatalities? Australian Capital
b the least road fatalities? Territory 16 5.1
2 Which state or territory had
165 fatalities?
3 Which state or territory had:
a the highest number of road deaths per 100 000 of population?
b the lowest number of road deaths per 100 000 of population?
4 Which column — ‘Killed’ or ‘Fatalities per 100 000’ — is a more accurate
measure of the risk of death on the road? Why?
5 Therefore, which state or territory is:
a the safest?
b the most dangerous for road deaths?
6 Out of the 8 states and territories, where does NSW rate in terms of road safety
(ACT would be 1), based on the ‘Fatalities per 100 000’ column?
1
Questions 1 to 4 refer to Pete’s pizza price list.
Pete’s Pizzas
Pizza Small Medium Large Family
Vegetarian $5.00 $7.00 $9.00 $11.00
Supreme $6.00 $7.50 $9.50 $12.00
Chicken $6.50 $8.00 $10.00 $12.80
Hot salami $5.50 $7.50 $9.80 $12.50
Mexican $5.50 $7.50 $9.00 $11.90
1 What is the cost of a large Hot salami pizza?

2 What is the most expensive medium pizza?
3 What is the cost of a family Chicken pizza and a small Supreme pizza?
4 How much change would you have from $50 after buying a small Vegetarian pizza, a
medium Mexican pizza and a family Supreme pizza?
Questions 5 to 7 refer to the following frequency distribution table, which shows data
collected on magazine sales in one week at a local newsagency.
Answer true or false to the following statements.
5 The magazines Girlfriend and Smash Magazine Number of sales
Hits sold equally well in this week. Dolly 50
6 During this week 40 copies of House Girlfriend 60
and garden were sold.
House and garden 30
7 Dolly was the most popular Smash Hits 60
magazine sold.
Total 200
Questions 8 to 10 refer to the following table. A number of people were surveyed as to

their most preferred water sport.
8 List the sports in ascending order
of preference. Water sports survey
9 What fraction of people surveyed Water sport Number of people

prefer waterskiing? Snorkelling 20
10 What percentage of people sur- Waterskiing 10
veyed prefer snorkelling? Whitewater rafting 35
Diving 15
Column and bar graphs

Graphs are very helpful when displaying and interpreting information. It is generally easier
to analyse the data when it is displayed as a graph rather than in a frequency table.
Column graphs
When constructing column graphs, they should be drawn on graph paper and have:
1. a title
2. labelled axes which are clearly and evenly scaled
3. columns of the same width
4. an even gap between each column
5. the first column beginning half a unit (that is, half the column width) from the
vertical axis.
WORKED Example 2
The graph at right represents the favourite pets of a
Number preferring (frequency)

Year 8 Blue’s favourite pets
particular Year 8 class.
a How many students preferred a dog as a pet?
8
b How many students in the class had a favourite
pet? 6
c Which was the least favoured pet? 4
d How many times more popular than horses are dogs? 2
e If there are 28 students in the class, how many do
0
not have a favourite pet? Dog Cat Bird Mouse Horse
Pet
THINK WRITE
a Read the ‘Dog’ column of the graph and a Eight people preferred a dog as a pet.
answer the question.
b 1 Add the numbers corresponding to b Number of students = 8 + 6 + 4 + 3 + 2

the top of each column. = 23
2 Answer the question. In the class, 23 students had a favourite pet.
c Make note of the shortest column and c The least favoured pet is the horse.
answer the question.
d 1 Obtain the number of students d Students preferring horses = 2

preferring horses and those Students preferring dogs = 8
preferring dogs.
2 Compare the two values. Eight is four times as large as two; that is,
8 = 2 × 4.
3 Answer the question. Dogs are four times more popular than
horses.
e 1 Subtract the number of students who e Number of students = 28 − 23

have a favourite pet (that is, 23) from =5
the total number of students.
2 Answer the question. Five students do not have a favourite pet.
Bar graphs
When constructing bar graphs, they should be drawn on graph paper and have:
1. a title
2. labelled axes that are clearly and evenly scaled
3. horizontal bars of the same width
4. an even gap between each horizontal bar
5. the first horizontal bar beginning half a unit (that is, half the bar width) above the
horizontal axis.
WORKED Example 3
The graph at right represents the favourite television shows of 500 teenagers
aged between 13 and 15.
a What percentage of the teenagers
preferred watching comedy Favourite television shows
television shows? Comedy
Soaps
b How many of the teenagers in the
Television shows
Police Drama
sample preferred to watch science News
fiction television shows? Documentaries
c What was the least favoured Cartoons
Science Fiction
television show? Lifestyle
d What were the two most popular Thriller
television shows?
0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
e Which television show is three times Percentage favouring
more popular than the news?
f Which television show did 10% of the teenagers watch?
g What scale has been used on the horizontal axis?
THINK WRITE
a Read the ‘Comedy’ bar of the graph and a 10% of the teenagers preferred comedy
answer the question. television shows.
b 1 Read the ‘Science Fiction’ bar of the b 8% of the teenagers preferred science fiction.
graph.
2 Find 8% of the sample. 8% of 500
8
= --------- × 500
100
= 40
3 Answer the question. Forty teenagers enjoyed science fiction
shows.
c Make note of the shortest bar(s) and c The least favoured television shows are the
answer the question. documentaries and lifestyle programs.
d Make note of the two longest bars and d The two most popular television shows are
answer the question. the cartoons and police dramas.
Continued over page

THINK WRITE
e 1 Obtain the percentage of teenagers e Teenagers preferring the news = 6%
who preferred watching the news.
2 Multiply the news percentage by 3. Required percentage is 3 × 6% = 18%
3 Find the percentage obtained in step 2 18% corresponds to the soaps.
on the horizontal scale of the graph and
see which bar it corresponds to.
4 Answer the question. The soaps are three times more popular
than the news.
f Find 10% on the horizontal scale of the f Comedy and thriller television shows are
graph and see which bar(s) it corresponds preferred by 10% of the teenagers.
to.
g 1 Read the horizontal scale and g 1 cm = 5%
determine how many centimetres
represent each marking.
2 Answer the question. From the graph, each one centimetre
represents 5% favouring.
WORKED Example 4
These results were obtained when a Year 8
class was surveyed on their favourite leisure Number
preferring
activity.
Leisure activity (frequency)
a Select a suitable title and draw a column
graph to display the data. Label the Reading 3
horizontal axis ‘Leisure activity’ and the Television 9
vertical axis ‘Number preferring Sport 7
(frequency)’. Scale the vertical axis from
0 to 10 so as to include the highest score. ‘Hanging out’ 5
b How many students chose sport as their Other 2
favoured leisure activity?
c What is the difference between the most and least favoured activity?
d Which activity received 5 votes?
e If everyone in the class completed the survey, how many students were in the class?
THINK WRITE
a 1 Rule a set of axes on graph paper. a Favourite leisure activity
Number preferring (frequency)
Provide a title for the graph that

relates to the data, for example, 10
‘Favourite leisure activity’. Label the 8
horizontal and vertical axes.
6
4
2
0 Reading Television Sport ‘Hanging Other
out’
Leisure activity
THINK WRITE
2Scale the horizontal and vertical axes.
Note: Leave a half interval at the
beginning and end of the graph; that is,
begin the first column half a unit from
the vertical axis.
3 Draw a vertical column so that it
reaches a vertical height corresponding
to 3 people. Label the section of the
axis below the column as ‘Reading’.
4 Leave a gap (measuring one column
width) between the first column and
the second column.
5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each of the
remaining leisure activities.
b Read the ‘Sport’ column of the graph and b Seven students chose sport as their
answer the question. favourite leisure activity.
c 1 Make note of the tallest and shortest c Television (most favoured) = 9 students
columns of the graph. Other (least favoured) = 2 students
2 Subtract the number of students Difference = 9 − 2
corresponding to the shortest column =7
from those corresponding to the tallest
column.
3 Evaluate and answer the question. The difference between the most and least
favoured leisure activity is 7.
d 1 Find 5 on the vertical scale of the d ‘Hanging out’ received 5 votes.
graph and see which column it
corresponds to.
2 Answer the question.
e 1 Add the frequencies corresponding to e Total = 3 + 9 + 7 + 5 + 2
the top of each column. Total = 25
2 Answer the question. There are 25 students in the class.
Column and bar graphs are used for displaying categorical data, that is, data relating to
eye colour, pets, favourite pastimes and so on.
remember
1. Graphs should be drawn on graph paper for greater accuracy. When
constructing column or bar graphs they must have:
(a) a title
(b) labelled axes that are clearly and evenly scaled
(c) vertical columns or horizontal bars of the same width
(d) an even gap between each column or bar
(e) the first column or bar beginning half a unit from the appropriate axis.
2. Column and bar graphs are used for displaying categorical data, that is, data
relating to eye colour, pets, favourite pastimes and so on.
12B Column and bar graphs
12.1 WORKED 1 This column graph represents the Jumpin’ Jeans

HEET Example
company’s profits. 20 Jumpin’ Jeans
SkillS
2
company profits
Profit
Reading a Which year showed the highest profit? How
10
($millions)
column much was it?
graphs b In which year did losses start? What was the 0
loss that year? –10
Loss
d
hca
c What was the profit or loss for 2005?
Mat
–20
Column d i Find the total profits and the total losses. ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06
and bar ii Calculate the company’s overall profit/loss Year
graphs
over the period shown.
reads e In which year was the only improvement made? By how much?
L Sp he
et
EXCE
WORKED 2 The graph at right represents the preferred television snacks of 160 Year 8 students at
Column Example
graphs 3
Mathsville High.
a Which snack is most favoured? What per- Preferred television snacks
centage favoured it?
reads
L Sp he Lollies
b Which snack was preferred by 12% of those
et
EXCE
surveyed? Popcorn
Column
graphs c How much greater was the percentage prefer- Nuts
(DIY) ring corn chips than the percentage preferring Corn chips
reads popcorn?
L Sp he
d What must the total of all column percentages Potato chips
et
EXCE
Bar be? Why? 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

graphs e How many times more popular than nuts are Percentage favouring
potato chips?
reads f What other choices could have been added to the survey?
L Sp he
g What scale is used on the horizontal scale?
et
EXCE
Bar
graphs WORKED 3 These results were obtained when a class
Example Student Number of votes
(DIY)
4
voted to elect a captain.
a Select a suitable title and draw a column Imran 6
graph to display the data. Label the hori- Renee 3
zontal axis ‘Student’ and the vertical axis Julian 11
‘Votes received’. Scale the vertical axis Gann 9
from 0 to 12 so as to include the highest Than 3
score.
b Who was elected class captain?
c What was the winning margin over the
next most popular candidate?
d Which two candidates received the same
number of votes?
e If everyone in the class used their one
vote, how many were in the class?
4 The age-group composition of the Australian population in 2005 is shown in the table
below.
Age group Number of millions

0–9 2.4
10–19 2.5
20–64 9.5
65 + 3.9
a Draw a bar graph to display the data.

b Which age groups are roughly equal in numbers?
c What percentage of the population were 65 or over?
d What percentage were in the income earning 20–64 age group?
Questions 5, 6 and 7 relate to the following table.

A survey of houses in Statistics Street produced the data shown in the table below.
Number of bedrooms Number of houses
2 3
3 10
4 6
5 2
5 Select a suitable title and draw a column graph to display the data. Label the vertical
axis ‘Number of houses’ and the horizontal axis ‘Number of bedrooms’.
GAME
6 multiple choice
time
Data and
The most common number of bedrooms in the houses of Statistics Street is: graphs
A 10 B 3 C2 D5 E 6 — 001
7 multiple choice SHEE

T 12.1
Work
The number of houses surveyed in Statistics Street is:

A 14 B 4 C 35 D7 E 21
COMMUNICATION Personal data sheet

This is a sample data sheet to be filled in by everyone in the class. You or your
teacher may decide to omit some items and include others. The data collected will
be used throughout this chapter.
Name: __________________________ Class: 8 ______ Date: ___/___/___
Age ___ years ___ months
Height ___ cm
Hair colour (red, blond, brown, black)
Eye colour (blue/grey, green, brown)
Left-handed or right-handed
Language(s) spoken
Transport to or from school
Number of children in the family

(include yourself)
Shoe size
Favourite sport
Favourite pet
Tabulating data from the class survey

Collate and tabulate the information from your class’s personal data sheets. Using
this information, create frequency distribution tables with the following categories:
1 Hair colour 2 Eye colour
3 Language(s) spoken 4 Children in family
5 Favourite sport 6 Favourite pet
7 Age 8 Height.
Recall from Year 7 that a frequency distribution table consists of three columns,
headed ‘Score’ (or in his case ‘Category’), ‘Tally’ and ‘Frequency’.
DESIGN Displaying your data as column or

bar graphs
Use the information from your personal data sheets for the class which has been
organised into frequency distribution tables to complete the following tasks.
1 Draw a column graph to display the class data on the number of children in the
families.
2 Draw a bar graph to display the data on favourite sports.
3 Choose another set of data and display this as either a column or a bar graph.
History of mathematics
N I C H O L A S O R E S M É ( 1 3 2 5 – 1 3 8 2)
Little is known of the early life of Nicholas credited as being the first mathematician to use
Oresmé. It is believed that he was born near Caen pictorial representations, or graphs, to represent the
in Normandy, France, in 1325. In 1348, there is a way elements vary. There is evidence that the first
record of him attending the College of Navarre to primitive graphs were produced by an Italian,
study theology at the University of Paris. After the Giovanni di Cosali. However, di Cosali’s efforts
award of his Master’s degree, Nicholas became the lacked the clarity and purpose of those done by
bursar of the college until 1355 and then a teaching Oresmé.
master until 1362. Oresmé also wrote on many scientific subjects,
In 1358, Nicholas met and became firm friends producing books such as the Book on the Sky and
with the Dauphin, the future Charles V of France. the World, where he rejected the theories of
The Dauphin was having a terrible struggle to Aristotle that stated that the Sun revolved around
maintain the kingdom of France. Edward III of the Earth.
England (the Black Prince) had captured his father,
Questions
John, and was holding him for ransom in London.
1. What was dangerous about living in
It was a time of political turmoil and danger. The
Europe in 1358 and 1359?
Black Death (the bubonic plague) swept through
2. Which ruler of France did Nicholas
France, killing up to 800 people every day in the
Oresmé become chief adviser to?
years 1358–59. Also, Europe was embroiled in the
3. Which area of mathematics did he gain
Hundred Years’ War. Nicholas was to become one
credit in developing?
of Charles’ chief advisers as well as a friend until
Charles’ death in 1380. Research
As well as helping Charles V in the financial Find out more about Nicholas Oresmé and
administration of France and taking on the role of some of his other mathematical work. What
canon in a number of cathedrals, Oresmé spent was his advice on the coinage used in France
years working in the area of mathematics. He is at that time?
Line graphs
°C mm
MILDURA So far we have looked at graphs that make comparisons of some sort about such things
Average monthly temperature
40 and rainfall 400 as favourite leisure activities, heights, weights, eye colour and so on.
We will now look at graphs that display changes over a period of time. These graphs,
30 max. 300
called line graphs, are commonly used to display such data as: temperature changes
during the day, the state’s monthly employment figures, a company’s profits and sales
20 200
min.
during the year. Line graphs are also used in business and sport to analyse trends or
10 100
general patterns that occur over a period of time.
A line graph is simply drawn by joining the given points with a line or smooth curve.
0 0
J F M A M J J A S O N D When constructing line graphs they must be drawn on graph paper and include:
1. a title
2. a horizontal axis that is evenly scaled and labelled (usually as time)
3. a vertical axis that is evenly scaled and labelled
4. a line or smooth curve that joins successive plotted points.
Line graphs also give meaningful information about the in-between values of particular
data.
WORKED Example 5
The line graph at right Temperature change during the day
represents the temperature
change during a particular day. 35°
a What is the value of each 30°
subdivision (grid line) on:
Temperature (°C)
25°
ii the horizontal axis?
ii the vertical axis? 20°
b What were the maximum 15°
and minimum temperatures
10°
during the day? At what
times did these occur? 5°
c What was the temperature 0
at: 0 6 am 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 pm
ii 8.00 am? ii 1.24 pm? Time of day
d At what time was the temperature: i 15°C? ii 27°C?
e What would you expect the temperature to be at 5.00 pm?
THINK WRITE
a i 1 Look at the horizontal axis of the a i 5 subdivisions (grid lines) = 1 hour
graph and count how many grid That is,
lines represent 1 hour (60 minutes). 5 subdivisions (grid lines) = 60 minutes.
60
2 Determine how many minutes one 1 subdivision = ------
5
subdivision (grid line) represents;
that is, divide 60 minutes by 5 = 12 minutes
grid lines.
3 Answer the question. Each subdivision represents 12 minutes
on the horizontal axis.
THINK WRITE
ii 1 Look at the vertical axis of the ii 5 subdivisions (grid lines) = 5°C

graph and count how many grid
lines represent 5°C.
5
2 Determine how many degrees one 1 subdivision = ---
5
subdivision (grid line) represents;
that is, divide 5°C by 5 grid lines. = 1°C
3 Answer the question. Each subdivision represents 1°C on the

vertical axis.
b 1 Look at the graph and read the b Maximum temperature = 30°C

maximum (highest graph point) and Minimum temperature = 9°C
minimum (lowest graph point)
temperatures.
2 Look at the maximum temperature A temperature of 30°C occurs at noon.
point on the graph and read vertically
down until the corresponding value
on the ‘Time of day’ axis is obtained.
3 Look at the minimum temperature A temperature of 9°C occurs at 6.00 am.
point on the graph and read vertically
down until the corresponding value
on the ‘Time of day’ axis is obtained.
4 Answer the question. A maximum temperature of 30°C occurs at
noon and remains at this level until 1.00 pm.
A minimum temperature of 9°C occurs at
6.00 am.
c i Read vertically up from 8.00 am on c i At 8.00 am the temperature is 18°C.
the ‘Time of day’ axis to the point
intersecting the graph and then
horizontally across to the
‘Temperature’ axis to obtain the
corresponding value and answer the
question.
ii Repeat the process described in part i ii At 1.24 pm the temperature is 29°C.
to obtain the corresponding
temperature at 1.24 pm.
Note: From part a each grid line on
the horizontal (time) axis represents
12 minutes; therefore, 1.24 pm is 2
grid lines beyond 1.00 pm.
Continued over page

THINK WRITE
d i Read horizontally across from 15°C on the d i A temperature of 15°C occurs at
‘Temperature’ axis to the point intersecting 7.24 am.
the graph and then vertically down until the
corresponding value on the ‘Time of day’
axis is obtained and answer the question.
ii Repeat the process described in part i to ii A temperature of 27°C occurs twice,
obtain the required times. first at 10.36 am and then at 2.30 pm.
e 1 Extend the line graph so that it intersects e
with the vertical grid line corresponding to
5.00 pm.
Note: Assume that the temperature
continues to decrease at approximately the
same rate.
2 Locate the corresponding temperature at At 5.00 pm the temperature is
5.00 pm and answer the question. approximately 17–18°C.
WORKED Example 6
The sunrise times on successive Mondays are shown in the following table.
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6
Sunrise (am) 6.30 6.22 6.17 6.08 6.00 5.54
a Plot a line graph to display the data.
b From your knowledge of the seasons, estimate the time of year covered by the graph.
Explain your answer.
THINK WRITE
a 1 Rule and label a set of axes on graph a Sunrise times
paper. 6.35
2 Plot each of the points onto the axes. 6.30

Begin at 1 on the weeks axis and 6.25
follow the vertical axis until the
6.20
required sunrise time (that is, 6.30)
Time of day (am)
is reached; mark the point. 6.15
Repeat step 2 for each set of data. 6.10

3
6.05
4 Join the points with a line.
6.00
5.55
5.50
5.45
5.40
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Week number
THINK WRITE
b Observe the direction of the graph and b The sunrise values are getting smaller as
make note of what is happening to the each week passes. This means sunrise is
times as each week passes. occurring earlier each week and the hours
of daylight are increasing. The time of year
represented by the graph could be the
season of spring, as this is when sunrise
begins to occur earlier.
remember
1. A line graph must be drawn on graph paper and include:
(a) a title
(b) a clearly labelled and evenly scaled set of axes
(c) an appropriate line or smooth curve that joins the plotted points.
2. Line graphs are used when displaying changes over a period of time.
12.2 SkillS
12C Line graphs
HEET
Reading scales
(How much is
each interval
WORKED 1 The line graph at right represents Cynthia’s Cynthia’s pulse rate worth?)
Example
5
pulse rate over a six minute period.
a What is the value of each subdivision
120 12.3 SkillS
Pulse rate (beats/min)
HEET
(grid line) on the: 100
i horizontal axis? 80 Reading

line
ii vertical axis? 60 graphs
40 Math
cad
20
Line
0 graphs
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
b What was Cynthia’s pulse rate after: Time (min) L Spre
XCE ad
sheet
E
i 2 minutes?
Line
ii 3 1--- minutes? graphs
2
c What were the maximum and
minimum pulse rates and at what L Spre
XCE ad
sheet
E
times did they occur?

d At what times were the pulse rates: Line
graphs
i 120 bpm (beats per minute)? (DIY)
ii 112 bpm?
e What would you expect the pulse
rate to be after 6 minutes?
f What could have caused Cynthia’s
pulse rate to increase?
2 The line graph at right represents the conversion rate of Australian currency (A$) to
American currency (US$) on a particular day.
a What is the value of each subdiv- $Australian – $US conversion graph
ision (grid line) on: 160
i the ‘A$’ axis? 140

ii the ‘US$’ axis? 120
b How much American currency can be 100
exchanged for:
US$
80
i A$20?
60
ii A$100?
40
c How much Australian currency can
be exchanged for: 20
i US$40? 0
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
ii US$90? A$
d What would you expect in American
currency for A$200?
3 The line graph at right compares the heights Yasha’s and Yolande’s heights
of Yasha and Yolande over a twenty-year 200
period. 170
a How tall was Yasha at age:
Height (cm)
140
i 3? ii 5? iii 14?
110
b How tall was Yolande at age:
80 Yasha
i 4? ii 10? iii 14?
Yolande
c At what age(s) were they the same 50
height? 20
d At what age was Yasha: 0 5 10 15 20
Age in years
i 140 cm tall? ii 176 cm tall?
e Between what ages was Yolande taller
than Yasha?
f Between which two birthdays did each person show fastest growth?
g How long did it take Yasha to double his birth height?
h What do the horizontal intervals mean?
i What was their height difference when they both reached maximum height?
4 The line graph at right displays a family’s Family income per week
weekly income over an eight-year period. 1000
a What was the family’s weekly income in:
800
i 1999? ii 2006?
Income ($)
600
b By how much had the income increased over
that period? 400
c In which two years did the income remain 200

the same? 0
d Between which two years did it show the ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06
biggest increase? Year
e When did the income reach $650 per week?

5 The line graph at right displays the traffic flow Traffic flow on a main road
Number of vehicles (hundreds)

on a particular road. 6
a At what time of day did traffic flow hit its
5
peak?
b During the period studied, when was the 4
number of vehicles at the lowest level? 3
c How many cars used the road at: 2
i 11.00 am? ii 9.30 am?
1
d At what times of the day were:
i 300 cars on the road? 0
6 am 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 pm
ii 225 cars on the road?
Time of day
e Discuss why the traffic flow shows the pat-
tern displayed.
6 A Year 8 student doing an exercise program Exercise pulse rates

recorded her pulse rate at one-minute intervals, as
(beats/min)
shown in the graph at right. 120
Pulse rate
a What was her pulse rate after: 80
i 2 min? ii 4 min?
40
b After how many minutes did her pulse rate
reach its maximum? 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
c After how many minutes was her pulse rate Time (min)
80 bpm? Explain why there are two answers to
this question.
d What was her pulse rate after 3 1--- minutes?
2
e For how long was her pulse rate above 80 bpm?
WORKED 7 Sunset times on six successive Fridays are shown in

Example
6
the table below.
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6
Sunset (pm) 6.15 6.08 6.00 5.54 5.47 5.40
a Plot a line graph to display the data. Label the

horizontal axis ‘Week’ and the vertical axis
‘Sunset (pm)’.
b Estimate the time of year covered by the graph
for your location. Explain your answer.
8 Weekly CD sales for the pop group The Mathemagics

are shown in the table below.
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Sales 1500 2800 3750 4000 3600 3000 2400 1900
a Construct a line graph of the data.

b Estimate the sales for week 9.
9 The average daily minimum temperatures for a city are shown in this table.
Month January February March April May June

Temp (°C) 29 26 22 19 15 10
a Construct a line graph to display the data.

b What would you expect the average daily minimum temperature to be in July?
10 Vani’s times for the 100 m sprint in training sessions are shown below.
Run 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (s) 12.4 12.1 11.9 12.2 11.8 12.0
a What do you notice about Vani’s times? How

will this affect the graph?
b How might the time axis scale be adjusted to
better highlight the time variations?
c Using the suggestion from part b, show the
information as a line graph.
d What was Vani’s average time over all training
sessions?
11 Jani and Kosmo are twins. These heights were recorded each year on their birthday.
Age (year) 1 2 3 4 5
Jani’s height (cm) 49 56 64 74 83
Kosmo’s height (cm) 50 58 65 76 86
a Display the height records as two lines of different colours on the one graph.
b At which age was the height difference the greatest?
c How tall would you expect each of the twins to be at age 6?
Questions 12, 13 and 14 relate to the following table showing variation in temperature
on a snowfield on one day.
5.00 7.00 9.00 11.00 1.00 3.00 5.00 7.00

Time of day
am am am am pm pm pm pm
Temperature (°C) −10 −8 −6 −1 4 3 1 −2

12 a Draw a line graph to show the temperatures recorded at a snowfield resort during
the ski season.
b Estimate the temperatures at: i 10 am ii 8 pm.
13 multiple choice
The temperature at 8.00 am would be approximately:
A −8°C B −7 1--- °C C −7°C D −6 1--- °C E −6°C
2 2
14 multiple choice
At what time(s) was the temperature at freezing point (0°C)?
A 12.00 pm B 11.30 am, 5.30 pm C 11.30 am, 6.30 pm
D 12.30 am, 5.30 pm E 6.00 pm
THINKING Recording temperature

Use a thermometer to measure classroom temperature at hourly intervals from 8 am
to 3 pm. Record the data in a table; then display it as a line graph. Label the
horizontal axis ‘Time’, the vertical axis ‘Temperature’. Scale the axes and add a title
to the graph.
Histograms and frequency polygons

In this section we will use our knowledge of column and line graphs to create two
similar types of graphs: the histogram and the frequency polygon.
Histograms
A special type of column graph is called a histogram. It must be drawn on graph paper
and have the following characteristics.
1. All columns are of equal width.

2. No gaps are left between columns.
3. Each column ‘straddles’ an x-axis score; (value) that is, the column starts and
finishes halfway between scores.
4. Usually a half-interval is left at the beginning and end of the graph. That is, the first
score is one unit in from the frequency (y)-axis.
The histogram at right displays the data collected Children in family
in a survey conducted to find the number of f
8
children in a family. The data collected for 20
families is shown in the table below. 6
Frequency
4
Score Tally Frequency 2
0 |||| 4 0 x
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 |||| 5
Score
2 |||| || 7
3 ||| 3
4 0
5 | 1
Total 20
Frequency polygons
A special type of line graph, called a frequency
polygon, has the following characteristics.
1. The frequency polygon uses the same scaled
axes as the histogram.
2. The midpoints of the tops of the histogram columns are joined by straight
intervals.
3. The polygon is closed by drawing lines at each end down to the score (x) axis.
The data presented in the histogram above can be used to create a frequency polygon.
Children in family Children in family

f f
8 8
6 6
Frequency
Frequency
4 4
2 2
0 x 0 x
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Score Score
WORKED Example 7
The table at right represents the Score (hours of sport played) Frequency (f)
number of hours of sport played
per week by Year 8 students. 1 3
a Draw a histogram which 2 8
represents the data in the table. 3 10
b Which is the most common
score (that is, the most common 4 12
number of hours of sport 5 16
played per week)? 6 8
c Which is the least common
7 7
score (that is, the least common
number of hours of sport Total 64
played per week)?
d How many students play at
least 6 hours of sport per week?
e How many students play at
most 3 hours of sport per week?
f How many students were
included in the survey?
g Draw a frequency polygon of
the data.
THINK WRITE
a 1 Rule and label a set of axes on graph a Hours of sport played by

paper. Give the graph a title. Year 8 students
f
2 Add a scale to the horizontal and vertical
18
axes. 16
Note: Leave half an interval at the
Frequency
14
12
beginning and end of the graph; that is, 10
label the first score one unit in from the 8
6
vertical (frequency) axis. 4
2
3 Draw in the first column so that it starts 0 x
and finishes halfway between scores and 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
reaches a vertical height of three units. Score (hours of sport played)
4 Repeat step 3 for each of the other scores.
b 1 Use the frequency distribution table to b The largest frequency value of 16

determine the largest frequency value and corresponds to 5 hours of sport played
which score it corresponds to. per week.
2 Answer the question. The most common number of hours
of sport played per week is 5 hours.
Continued over page
THINK WRITE
c 1 Use the frequency distribution table to c The smallest frequency value of 3
determine the least frequency value corresponds to 1 hour of sport being played
and which score it corresponds to. per week.
2 Answer the question. The least common hours of sport played per
week is 1 hour.
d Add all of the frequencies that d At least 6 hours: 8 + 7 = 15.

correspond to at least 6 hours of sport There are 15 students who played at least
being played per week (that is, 6 and 6 hours of sport per week.
7 hours) and answer the question.
e Add all of the frequencies that e At most 3 hours: 3 + 8 + 10 = 21.

correspond to, at most, 3 hours of sport There are 21 students who played at most
being played per week (that is 1, 2 and 3 hours of sport per week.
3 hours) and answer the question.
f 1 Add each of the frequencies to f Total = 3 + 8 + 10 + 12 + 16 + 8 + 7

determine the total number of students = 64
surveyed.
2 Answer the question. 64 students were surveyed.
g 1 Mark the midpoints of the tops of the g Hours of sport played by

columns obtained in the histogram Year 8 students
from part a. f
2 Join the midpoints by straight line 18
16
intervals. 14
Frequency
12
10
8
6
4
2
0 x
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Score (hours of sport played)
3 Close the polygon by drawing lines Hours of sport played by
at each end down to the score (x) Year 8 students
axis. f
The frequency polygon may be left 18
4 16
overlayed on the histogram or may 14
Frequency
12
be transferred to a separate set of 10
axes. 8
6
4
2
0 x
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Score (hours of sport played)
The histogram in worked example 7 can also be obtained on the graphics calculator.
Graphics Calculator tip! Plotting

histogram
a
1. Clear the Y= editor and turn off any existing plots by pressing 2nd [STATPLOT]
and choosing 4: PlotsOff . O
CASI
2. Press STAT , select 1: Edit and enter x data in L1 and Plotting
frequencies in L2. a
(For grouped data use the midpoint of the class histogram
interval for x.)
3. Press 2nd [STATPLOT] then press ENTER (or

select 1 ).
Choose settings for a histogram as shown at right
using arrow keys and press ENTER .
4. Press ZOOM and choose 9: ZoomStat ; this will set

up the vertical scale.
5. Press WINDOW and change the settings as follows:
Xmin = 1, the smallest value in L1.
Xmax = 8, the sum of the largest value in L1 and the
Xscl value; that is, 7 + 1 = 8.
Xscl = 1, the difference between two successive
values in L1.
6. Press TRACE .
Grouping data using class intervals

When the data are spread over a wide range or there is a large amount of data, it is
helpful to group the scores into class intervals. The size of the class interval is impor-
tant when drawing up a frequency distribution table. In general, the choice for the size
of a class interval should lead to the formation of 5 to 10 groups.
WORKED Example 8
The following data are the results of testing the lives (in hours) of 100 torch batteries.
20, 31, 42, 49, 46, 36, 42, 25, 28, 37, 48, 49, 45, 35, 25, 42, 30, 23, 25, 26,
29, 31, 46, 25, 40, 30, 31, 49, 38, 41, 23, 46, 29, 38, 22, 26, 31, 33, 34, 32,
41, 23, 29, 30, 29, 28, 48, 49, 31, 49, 48, 37, 38, 47, 25, 43, 38, 48, 37, 20,
38, 22, 21, 33, 35, 27, 38, 31, 22, 28, 20, 30, 41, 49, 41, 32, 43, 28, 21, 27,
20, 39, 40, 27, 26, 36, 36, 41, 46, 28, 32, 33, 25, 31, 33, 25, 36, 41, 28, 33
a Choose a suitable class interval for the given data and present the results in
a frequency distribution table.
b Draw a histogram of the data.
c Add a polygon to the histogram.
Continued over page
THINK WRITE
a 1 Choose a suitable size for the class a

interval.
2 Obtain the range for the given data; Range = largest value − smallest value
that is, subtract the smallest value = 49 − 20
from the largest. = 29
29
3 Divide the results obtained for the Number of class intervals: ------ = 5.8
5
range by 5 and round to the nearest
whole number. ≈6
Note: A class interval of 5 hours will

result in 6 groups.
4 Draw a frequency table and list the

class intervals in the first column, Lifetime Frequency
beginning with the smallest value. (hours) Tally (f )
Note: The class interval 20–<25 20–<25 |||| |||| || 12

includes hours ranging from and 25–<30 |||| |||| |||| |||| ||| 23
including 20 to less than 25. 30–<35 |||| |||| |||| |||| 20
35–<40 |||| |||| |||| | 16
5 Systematically go through the data 40–<45 |||| |||| || | 13
and determine the frequency of each 45–<50 |||| |||| |||| | 16
class interval.
Total 100
6 Calculate the total of the frequency

column.
b 1 Rule and label a set of axes on graph b Battery life

paper. Give the graph a title. f
25
2 Add scales to the horizontal and
20
vertical axes.
Note: Leave a half interval at the 15
Frequency
beginning and end of the vertical 10

axis.
5
3 Draw in the first column so that it 0 x
starts and finishes halfway between 0
25 5
30 0
35 5
40 0
45 5
50
2
3
3
4
4
–<
–<
–<
–<
–<
–<
class intervals and reaches a vertical

20
height of 12 units. Lifetime of torch batteries (hours)
4 Repeat step 3 for each of the other

scores.
THINK WRITE
c 1 Mark the midpoints of the tops of the c Battery life
columns obtained in the histogram f
from part b. 25
2 Join the midpoints by straight line 20
Frequency
intervals.
15
3 Close the polygon by drawing lines
at each end down to the class 10
interval (x) axis. 5
0 x
0
25 5
30 0
35 5
40 0
45 5
50
2
3
3
4
4
–<
–<
–<
–<
–<
–<
20
Lifetime of torch batteries (hours)
Histograms are used for displaying numerical data.
remember
1. A histogram must be drawn on graph paper and should include:
(a) a title
(b) clearly labelled and evenly scaled axes
(c) columns of equal width with no gaps between them
(d) columns that each straddle a score on the x-axis
(e) a half-interval left at each end of the x-axis.
2. Frequency polygons should include:
(a) the same scaled axes as the histogram
(b) straight lines that join the midpoints of the tops of the columns
(c) lines drawn (that close the polygon) at each end down to the score (x) axis.
3. Class intervals are used when:
(a) data are spread over a wide range
(b) there is a large amount of data.
4. The size of a class interval should lead to the formation of 5 to 10 groups.
5. Histograms are used for displaying numerical data.
Histograms and frequency

12D polygons
12.4 SkillS
HEET
Producing a
frequency
1 The following histogram displays the heights Student heights table
of a group of students. f from a
a Which is the most common height? 20 frequency
histogram
b Which is the least common height? 15
Frequency
c How many students are taller than 156 cm? Math

10
cad
d How many students are shorter than

156 cm? 5 Histo-
grams
e Which height occurred 18 times? 0 x and
f How many students were included in the 0 150 152 154 156 158 160 162 frequency
Height (cm) polygons
survey?
WORKED 2 The following frequency distribution table represents the scores obtained by a group
Example
of Year 8 students in a test.
7
Score (x) Frequency (f )
1 2
2 3
3 6
4 9
5 11
6 7
7 4
Total
reads a Draw a histogram that represents the data in the table above, using grid paper. To
L Sp he
et
decide on scaling for the axes, ask yourself: ‘What is the highest score (x-axis)?’
EXCE
Histograms and ‘What is the highest frequency (y-axis)?’ Use the title: ‘Student Ratings’.
frequency b Which is the most common score?
polygons
c Which is the least common score?
reads d How many students received a score of at least 5?
L Sp he
et
EXCE
e How many students received a score of, at most, 3?

Histograms and
frequency f How many students were included in the survey?
polygons (DIY) g Draw a frequency polygon of the data.
HEET
12.5 3 A quality control officer obtained random samples of bags of corn chips from the
SkillS
production line and weighed them. Here are the data:

Presenting data
in a Corn chips: Net weight (grams)
frequency table 252, 247, 249, 250, 248, 246, 251, 248, 250, 249, 246, 249, 247, 248, 247, 248, 249,
248, 250, 249, 250, 246, 247, 251, 248
am –
rogr TI a Sort the data into a frequency distribution table.
GC p
Univariate b How many packets of corn chips were in the sample?

statistics c How many packets weighed less than the printed weight of 250 g?
d How many packets weighed more than the target weight?
am – e Present the data in the table as a histogram, and overlay a frequency polygon on it.
rogr Ca
sio
Be sure to label the graph and give it a title.

GC p
Univariate
statistics
4 These are the results of a test out of 10 for a Year 8 class:
2, 6, 5, 9, 8, 7, 3, 6, 9, 4, 8, 8, 6, 7, 6, 4, 7, 8, 7, 8, 6, 7, 8, 5, 3, 9, 2, 6, 5, 8
a Present the data in a frequency distribution table.
b How many students were in the class?
c What was the most common test score?
d Give the highest and lowest test scores.
e Display the data as a histogram frequency polygon combination graph.
Questions 5 and 6 refer to the following information.

The number of hours of sleep during school week nights for a Year 8 class are recorded
below:
6, 9, 7, 8, 7, 8 1--- , 6 1--- , 8, 7 1--- , 7 1--- , 8, 8 1--- , 6 1--- , 8, 8, 7, 7 1--- , 8, 9, 8
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
5 a Sort the information into a frequency table.
c How many students were in the sample?
d How many students slept for at least 8 hours?
e How many students slept for fewer than 7 hours?
6 multiple choice
The number of students who slept between 6 and
7 hours inclusive is:
A1 B 4 C6
D5 E 3
Questions 7 and 8 refer to the following information.

The amount of pocket money (in dollars) available to a random sample of 13-year-olds
each week was found to be as shown below:
10, 15, 5, 4, 8, 10, 4, 15, 5, 6, 10, 6, 5, 10, 8, 10, 5, 10, 10, 6
7 a Compile a frequency distribution table from the data.

b Draw a histogram that represents the given data.
c What was the most common amount of pocket money?
d How many received less than $8 per week?
8 multiple choice
The number of 13-year-olds who received at least $8 per week is:
A9 B 3 C6 D5 E 11
WORKED 9 The following data give the results of testing the lives (in hours) of 100
Example
8
torch batteries:
25, 36, 30, 34, 21, 40, 36, 46, 29, 38, 20, 41, 34, 45, 25,
40, 31, 39, 24, 45, 27, 44, 23, 35, 47, 49, 20, 37, 43, 26,
35, 28, 48, 30, 20, 36, 41, 26, 32, 42, 21, 31, 45, 42, 26,
37, 33, 24, 45, 38, 36, 43, 21, 34, 38, 35, 28, 41, 30, 22,
29, 32, 39, 25, 44, 21, 35, 38, 41, 35, 30, 23, 37, 43, 33,
34, 28, 39, 22, 31, 35, 42, 38, 27, 36, 46, 28, 34, 37, 29,
24, 30, 39, 44, 31, 24, 36, 28, 47, 21
a Choose a suitable class interval for the given data and present the results on a
frequency distribution table.
c Add a polygon to the histogram.
10 For each of the following data, choose a

suitable class interval and represent the result
on a frequency distribution table.
a The data below show the fat content
(%) of 30 types of biscuits selected
from a supermarket’s shelves:
6, 12, 1, 5, 8, 13, 20, 18, 12, 2, 25, 13,
18, 20, 8, 9, 17, 21, 7, 22, 30, 28, 12, 19,
29, 12, 28, 2, 7, 17
b The following data give the number of hours of television watched by a group of
28 students in a typical week:
16, 20, 5, 2, 60, 40, 13, 2, 25, 30, 45, 24, 12, 8, 10, 16, 9, 25, 0, 50, 16, 29, 32, 41,
30, 12, 12, 6
c Anna was required to measure the mass (in grams) of a variety of ingredients for
her home economics assignment. The following data represent Anna’s results in the
range of 0 g ≤ mass ≤ 250 g:
8, 29, 110, 56, 74, 128, 160, 205, 227, 16, 5, 61, 27, 130, 92, 35, 50, 230, 80, 160
d Nadia’s duties at the delicatessen require her to weigh out a number of products.
SHEE
T 12.2
The following data represent Nadia’s results in the range of 250 g ≤ mass ≤ 500 g:
Work
260, 300, 410, 289, 310, 278, 316, 480, 410, 270, 360, 492, 321, 325, 380, 252,
312, 291, 315, 280, 460, 400, 280, 265, 350, 290, 460, 370, 425, 310
2
Questions 1 to 3 refer to the column graph at right. Favourite football clubs
1 How many people support Hawthorn? 80
Frequency
2 Which two clubs are supported by 50 people? 60
40
3 Which football club has the highest number
of supporters? 20
0
n
on
d
or
on
oo
rlt
th
w
m
Ca
aw
ng
ch
lli
Ri
H
Co
Questions 4 to 6 refer to the line graph at right. Marie’s trip

100
4 After how much time was Marie furthest away 80
Distance (m)
from her starting point?

60
5 What was her speed during the first two 40
distance 20
minutes? (Remember: Speed = ------------------- ).
time
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
6 What total distance did she travel? Time (min)
Chris received the following results (out of 10) in his mathematics tests in semester 1:
5, 8, 7, 9, 10, 6, 8, 9, 8, 8, 5, 6, 7, 5
7 Organise the data into a frequency distribution table.
8 Display the data as a histogram frequency polygon combination graph.
9 What was the highest score Chris obtained?
10 Which score has the highest frequency?
Stem-and-leaf plots
When displaying data, a stem-and-leaf plot may be used as an alternative to the
frequency distribution table. Each piece of data in a stem-and-leaf plot is made up of
two components: a stem and a leaf.
For example, the value 28 is made up of a tens component (the stem) and the units
component (the leaf) and would be written as: Stem Leaf
2 8
It is important to provide a key when drawing up stem-and-leaf plots, as the plots may be
used to display a variety of data; that is, values ranging from whole numbers to decimals.
WORKED Example 9
Prepare an ordered stem-and-leaf plot for each of the following sets of data.
a 129, 148, 137, 125, 148, 163, 152, 158, 172, 139, 168, 121, 134
b 1.6, 0.8, 0.7, 1.2, 1.9, 2.3, 2.8, 2.1, 1.6, 3.1, 2.9, 0.1, 4.3, 3.7, 2.6
THINK WRITE
a 1 Rule two columns with the headings a Key: 12 1 = 121
‘Stem’ and ‘Leaf’. Stem Leaf
2 Include a key to the plot that informs the 12 9 5 1
reader of the meaning of each entry. 13 7 9 4
3 Make a note of the smallest and largest 14 8 8
values of the data (that is, 121 and 172 15 2 8
respectively). List the stems in ascending 16 3 8
order in the first column (that is, 12, 13, 14, 17 2
15, 16, 17).
Note: The hundreds and tens components
of the number represent the stem.
4 Systematically work through the given
data and enter the leaf (unit component) of
each value in a row beside the appropriate
stem.
Note: The first row represents the interval
120–129, the second row represents the
interval 130–139 and so on.
5 Redraw the stem-and-leaf plot so that the Key: 12 1 = 121
numbers in each row of the leaf column Stem Leaf
are in ascending order. 12 1 5 9
13 4 7 9
14 8 8
15 2 8
16 3 8
17 2
Continued over page

THINK WRITE
b 1 Rule the stem and leaf columns and b Key: 0 1 = 0.1
include a key. Stem Leaf
2 Make a note of the smallest and 0 871
largest values of the data (that is, 0.1 1 6296
and 4.3 respectively). List the stems 2 38196
in ascending order in the first column 3 17
(that is, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4). 4 3
Note: The units components of the
decimal represent the stem.
3 Systematically work through the
given data and enter the leaf (tenth
component) of each decimal in a row
beside the appropriate stem.
Note: The first row represents the
interval 0.1–0.9, the second row
represents the interval 1.0–1.9 and
so on.
4 Redraw the stem-and-leaf plot so Key: 0 1 = 0.1
that the numbers in each row of the Stem Leaf
leaf column are in ascending order to 0 178
produce an ordered stem-and-leaf 1 2669
plot. 2 13689
3 17
4 3
From worked example 9 it is evident that there are some advantages in displaying
grouped data in a stem-and-leaf plot compared with a frequency distribution graph.
All the original data are retained; therefore, it is possible to identify the smallest and
largest values as well as any repeated values. This cannot be done when values are
grouped in class intervals.
Stem-and-leaf plots also give a graphical representation of the data, as they resemble
histograms turned on their side.
9
9 8
8 6 6
7 6 3 7
Leaf 1 2 1 1 3
Stem 0 1 2 3 4
remember
A stem-and-leaf plot allows:
1. all the original data to be retained
2. a graphical representation of the data to be seen as it resembles a histogram
turned on its side.
12E Stem-and-leaf plots

1 The following stem-and-leaf plot gives the age of members Key: 2 4 = 24
of a theatrical group. Stem Leaf
a How many people are in the theatrical group? 1 78899
b What is the age of the youngest member of the group? 2 2479
c What is the age of the oldest member of the group? 3 1338
d How many people are over 30 years of age? 4 022266
e What age is the most common in the group? 5 57
f How many people are over 65 years of age? 6 4
2 The stem-and-leaf plot at right represents Key: 23 7 = 237

data for the height of trees (in cm) in
a nursery. Stem Leaf
20 7429 12.6 SkillS
a Redraw this stem-and-leaf plot as an
HEET
21 207
ordered stem-and-leaf plot. Presenting data
22 93386
b Write the tenth number in the 23 021216
as a stem-and-leaf
plot
ordered stem-and-leaf plot. 24 5
WORKED 3 The following data give the number of fruit that
Example
9a
have formed on each of 40 trees in an orchard:
29, 37, 25, 62, 73, 41, 58, 62, 73, 67,
47, 21, 33, 71, 92, 41, 62, 54, 31, 82,
93, 28, 31, 67, 29, 53, 62, 21, 78,
81, 51, 25, 93, 68, 72, 46, 53, 39,
28, 40
Prepare an ordered stem-and-leaf
plot that displays the data.
4 The number of errors made each

week by 30 machine operators is
recorded below:
12, 2, 0, 10, 8, 16, 27, 12, 6, 1,
40, 16, 25, 3, 12,
31, 19, 22, 15, 7, 17, 21, 18, 32,
33, 12, 28, 31, 32, 14
Prepare an ordered stem-and-leaf
plot that displays the data.
5 Prepare an ordered stem-and-leaf plot

for each of the following sets of data:
a 132, 117, 108, 129, 165, 172, 145, 189,
137, 116, 152, 164, 118
b 131, 173, 152, 146, 150, 171, 130, 124, 114
c 196, 193, 168, 170, 199, 186, 180, 196, 186, 188,
170, 181, 209
d 207, 205, 255, 190, 248, 248, 248, 237, 225, 239, 208, 244
e 748, 662, 685, 675, 645, 647, 647, 708, 736, 691, 641, 735
WORKED 6 Prepare an ordered stem-and-leaf plot for each of the following sets of data:
Example
a 1.2, 3.9, 5.8, 4.6, 4.1, 2.2, 2.8, 1.7, 5.4, 2.3, 1.9
9b
b 2.8, 2.7, 5.2, 6.2, 6.6, 2.9, 1.8, 5.7, 3.5, 2.5, 4.1
c 7.7, 6.0, 9.3, 8.3, 6.5, 9.2, 7.4, 6.9, 8.8, 8.4, 7.5, 9.8
d 14.8, 15.2, 13.8, 13.0, 14.5, 16.2, 15.7, 14.7, 14.3, 15.6, 14.6, 13.9,
14.7, 15.1, 15.9, 13.9, 14.5
e 0.18, 0.51, 0.15, 0.02, 0.37, 0.44, 0.67, 0.07
Mean, median and mode

We collect data in order to find out what is going
on now in our area of interest. Then we can
interpret the results to make decisions and pre-
dictions such as: Where should the new school
be built? What do we expect its enrolment to be
by 2010? When do most teenagers watch tele-
vision? What food should be sold at the school
canteen? If sales continue to rise at this rate,
what profits can we expect next quarter?
Simple calculations based on collected data can help give us typical values, or values
that show how the data cluster. These typical values are commonly referred to as aver-
ages. We will look at 3 different types of averages used in interpreting data: mean,
median and mode.
Mean
The mean or average of a set of scores is the sum of all the scores divided by the
number of scores. It is denoted by the symbol x (pronounced x bar).
WORKED Example 10
Jan’s basketball scores were: 18, 24, 20, 22, 14, 12.
What was his mean score? Calculate your answer,
correct to 1 decimal place.
THINK WRITE
1 Calculate the total of the basketball Total score = 18 + 24 + 20 + 22 + 14 + 12
scores. = 110
THINK WRITE
2 Count the number of basketball scores. Number of scores = 6
total score
3 Define the rule for the mean. Mean = -----------------------------------------
number of scores
110
4 Substitute the known values into the rule. x = ---------
6
5 Evaluate, rounding to 1 decimal place. = 18.333 33 …
Note: The mean is often not one of the ≈ 18.3
given scores.
WORKED Example 11
Calculate the mean of the frequency distribution data given below.
Score (x) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Frequency (f ) 3 2 4 0 1 5
THINK WRITE
1 Rearrange the rows as columns and Score ×
include an extra column headed: Score Frequency frequency
‘Score × frequency (x × f )’. (x) (f ) (x × f )
2 Enter the information into the third
1 3 1×3=3
column; that is, the score of 1 occurred 3
times. Therefore, x × f = 1 × 3 = 3. 2 2 2×2=4
The score of 2 occurred 2 times. 3 4 3 × 4 = 12
Therefore, x × f = 2 × 2 = 4. 4 0 4×0=0
Continue this process for each pair of
data. 5 1 5×1=5
3 Determine the total of the ‘Frequency’ 6 5 6 × 5 = 30
column. This shows how many scores Total 15 54
there are altogether.
4 Determine the total of the ‘Score ×
frequency’ column. This shows the
overall value of all the scores.
total of score × frequency values
5 Define the rule for the mean. Mean = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
total frequency values
54
6 Substitute the known values into the rule. x = ------
15
7 Evaluate the answer to 1 decimal place. = 3.6
Note: The mean is often not one of the
given scores.
Median
The median is the middle score for an odd number of scores and the average of the
two middle scores for an even number of scores.
n+1
Alternatively, if a set of data contains n scores, the median is given by the ------------ th
2
score.
To obtain the median, the scores must be arranged in numerical order.
WORKED Example 12
Find the median of the scores:
a 10, 8, 11, 5, 17 b 9, 3, 2, 6, 3, 5, 9, 8.
THINK WRITE
a 1 Arrange the values in ascending order. a 5, 8, 10 , 11, 17

2 Select the middle value.
Note: There are an odd number of scores, that
is, 5. Hence, the third value is the middle
number or median.
n+1
Alternatively, use the rule ------------ , where n = 5
2
gives the position of the median. The location
5+1
of the median is  ------------ = 3 ; that is, the 3rd
 2 
score.
3 Answer the question. The median of the scores is 10.
b 1 Arrange the values in ascending order. b 2, 3, 3, 5 , 6 , 8, 9, 9

2 Select the middle values.
Note: There are an even number of scores that
is, 8. Hence, the fourth and fifth values are the
middle numbers, or median.
n+1
Again the rule ------------ could be used to locate
2
the position of the median.
5+6
3 Obtain the average of the two middle values. Median = ------------
2
11
= ------
2
= 5 1--- (or 5.5)
2
4 Answer the question. The median of the score is 5 1--- or
2
Note: The median in this case is not one of the 5.5.
actual scores.
Note: For sets of data containing an odd number of scores, the median will be one of
the actual scores, while for the sets with an even number of scores, the median will be
positioned halfway between the two scores.
Graphics Calculator tip! Finding the median

(or the mean)
To find the median of a list of numbers press 2nd O
CASI
[LIST] , arrow across to MATH and select 4: Median( .
Finding
Press 2nd [ { ] and enter the scores separated by a the
median
comma. Press 2nd [ } ] to close the brackets and then (or the
mean)
press ENTER .
You can find the mean easily by following the same
steps but selecting 3: Mean( rather than 4: Median( .
When determining the median, recall:
1. there are as many scores above the median as there are below it.
2. for an even number of scores, the median may not be one of the listed scores.
WORKED Example 13
Find the median of the data presented in the following stem-and-leaf plots.
a Key: 14 5 = 145 b Key: 25 3 = 253
Stem Leaf Stem Leaf
14 2788 21 306
15 24 22 432497
16 1399 23 9315
17 022266 24 262067
18 5 25 57
26 47311
THINK WRITE
a 1 Check that the given stem-and-leaf a The stem-and-leaf plot is ordered.
plot is ordered.
2 Count the pieces of data and There are 17 pieces of data. Therefore, the
determine the middle value. middle value is the ninth term.
3 Answer the question. The median is 169.
b 1 Check if the stem-and-leaf plot is b The stem-and-leaf plot is not ordered.

ordered. It is not.
2 Order the stem-and-leaf plot. Key: 25 3 = 253
Stem Leaf
21 0 3 6
22 2 3 4 4 7 9
23 1 3 5 9
24 0 2 2 6 6 7
25 5 7
26 1 1 3 4 7
Continued over page
THINK WRITE
3 Count the pieces of data and There are 26 pieces of data. Therefore, the
determine the middle values. two middle values are the thirteenth and
fourteenth terms.
239 + 240
4 Add the two middle terms and divide Median = ------------------------
2
by 2; that is, obtain the average of
them. 479
= ---------
2
= 239.5
5 Answer the question. The median is 239.5.
Mode
The mode is the most common score in a set of data. It is the score with the highest
frequency. It measures clustering of scores.
Some sets of scores have more than one mode or no mode at all; that is, there is no
score that corresponds to the highest frequency, as all values occurred once only.
WORKED Example 14
Find the mode of the following scores:
a 5, 7, 9, 8, 5, 8, 5, 6 b 10, 8, 11, 5, 17 c 9, 3, 2, 6, 3, 5, 9, 8.
THINK WRITE
a 1 Look at the set of data and circle any a 5 , 7, 9, 8 , 5 , 8 , 5 , 6

values that have been repeated.
2 Choose the values that have been The number 5 occurs 3 times.
repeated the most.
3 Answer the question. The mode for the given set of values is 5.
b 1 Look at the set of data and circle any b 10, 8, 11, 5, 17

values that have been repeated. No values have been repeated.
2 Answer the question. The following set of data has no mode, since
Note: No mode is not the same as none of the scores correspond to a highest
having a mode which equals 0. frequency. Each of the numbers occur only
once.
c 1 Look at the set of data and circle any c 9 , 3 , 2, 6, 3 , 5, 9 , 8

values that have been repeated.
2 Choose the values that have been The number 3 occurs twice. The number 9
repeated the most. occurs twice.
3 Answer the question. The modes for the given set of values are 3
and 9.
COMMUNICATION What is the difference?
Mean, median and mode are all types of averages.
1 Provide two examples of situations where each type of average is the best one to
use.
2 At times, these measures are used to mislead people. Describe some situations
where this may occur.
3 Write a paragraph to describe the difference between the three types of average.
Graphics Calculator tip! Finding the mean, median

and mode
To enter data into the TI–83 graphics calculator, press STAT and select 1:Edit. Type O
CASI
your data in the L1 column. Press ENTER after each entry. (You can type over existing
Finding
numbers or press DEL to delete.) To find the mean and median of your data, press the
STAT ; then arrow across to select CALC and 1:1 – Var Stats and press ENTER . The mean,
median
mean is the value given for x . Scroll down to find the median. This is shown as Med=. and
You will also be able to view the lowest value, minX, and the highest value, maxX, of mode
the data.
To assist you in finding the mode, you can sort the data list into ascending order.
Press STAT select 2:Sort A(; then press 2nd L1 (to sort List 1) and press ENTER .
(Note that selecting 3:Sort D( sorts the data in descending order.) You can view the
sorted data by pressing STAT 1:Edit. (Highlighting L1 shows the full list of the data
across the bottom of the screen for easier viewing.)
The screens below show the summary statistics for the data: 3, 4, 8, 4, 5, 6.
Mean = 5 Mode = 4
Median = 4.5
remember
1. To determine the mean, x , of values in a list, obtain the total of all the scores
and divide by the number of scores.
2. To determine the mean of values in a table, add the (x × f ) column, and divide
by the total of the frequency column (f ).
3. For an odd number of scores arranged in numerical order, the median is the
middle score. For an even number of scores arranged in numerical order, the
median is the average of the two middle scores. There are as many scores
above the median as there are below it.
n+1
4. The median can be located using the rule ------------ , where n represents the number
of data. 2
5. The mode is the most common score.
12F Mean, median and mode
12.7 WORKED 1 Caroline’s basketball scores were: 28, 25, 29, 30, 27, 22. What was her mean score?
HEET Example
Give the answer correct to 1 decimal place.
SkillS
10
Finding 2 Find the mean (average) of each set of the following scores. Give the answers correct
the to 2 decimal places.
mean
a 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9
am – am –
rogr TI rogr Ca b 2, 7, 8, 10, 6, 9, 11, 4, 9
GC p
sio
GC p
Univariate Univariate c 3, 27, 14, 0, 2, 104, 36, 19, 77, 81

statistics statistics d 4, 8.4, 6.6, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 6.9
3 Francesca’s soccer team has the following
d
hca goals record this season:
Mat
Mean 2, 0, 1, 3, 1, 2, 4, 0, 2, 3
a What total number of goals have they
scored?
b How many games have they played?
c Find the team’s average score.
4 multiple choice
Frisco’s athletics coach timed 5 consecutive 200 m training runs. He recorded times
of 25.1, 23.9, 24.8, 24.5 and 27.3 seconds. His mean 200 m time (in seconds) is:
A 24.60 B 25.20 C 25.12 D 25.42 E 26.12
5 An Olympic figure skater was given these scores by the panel of judges:
4.8, 4.6, 4.5, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.2, 4.0, 4.8.
Find the average score correct to 1 decimal place.
6 Two Year 8 groups did the same mathematics test. Their results out of 10 were:
Group A: 5, 8, 7, 9, 6, 7, 8, 5, 4, 2
Group B: 5, 6, 4, 5, 9, 7, 8, 8, 9, 7
a Which group had the highest mean?
b Compare the spread of the marks for the groups.
7 A third Year 8 group had the following results in the same test as in question 6: L Spre
XCE ad
sheet
E
5, 7, 8, 4, 6, 8, 5, 9, 8
a What is the average score of this group? Mean
from a
b What must a tenth student (who was originally absent) score to bring this group’s frequency
average to 7? table
L Spre
XCE ad
8 Calculate the mean of this frequency distribution.
sheet
E
WORKED
Example
11 Mean from
Score (x) 1 2 3 4 5 a frequency
table (DIY)
Frequency (f ) 4 3 2 1 0
12.8 SkillS
HEET
9 Calculate the mean of this frequency distribution. Arranging a
set of data
Score (x) 6 7 8 9 10 in ascending
order
Frequency (f ) 2 8 3 4 2
12.9 SkillS
HEET
10 A survey of the number of occupants in each house in
Finding
a street gave the following data: the location
2, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2, 0, 2, 3, 2, 4, 5, 4, 2, 3, 4 of the
Prepare a frequency distribution table with an x × f median
column and use it to find the average number of
people per household. 12.10 SkillS
HEET
11 These scores show the number of people in each apartment in a block of flats. Use Finding
a frequency table to calculate the mean number of people per unit, correct to 1 the middle
score of a
decimal place. set of data
1, 3, 2, 4, 2, 1, 3, 5, 3, 2, 4, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2
12.11 SkillS
12 The mean of 10 scores is 8. What is the total of all the scores?
HEET
Finding the middle
13 The mean of 5 scores is 7.2. score of data
a What is the sum of the scores? arranged in a
stem-and-leaf plot
b If four of the scores are 9, 8, 7 and 5, what is the fifth?
CEL Spread L Spre
X XCE ad
WORKED 14 Find the median of the following scores:
sheet
E
sheet
E
Example
12a a 5, 5, 7, 12, 13 b 28, 13, 17, 21, 18, 17, 14 Median Median
(DIY)
WORKED 15 Find the median of the following scores:
Example
12b a 2, 52, 46, 52, 48, 52, 48 b 4, 1.5, 1.7, 2.0, 1.8, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9
WORKED 16 Find the median of the data presented in the following stem-and-leaf plots.
Example
13 a Key: 1 5 = 15 b Key: 24 7 = 247 c Key: 17 4 = 174 L Spre L Spre
XCE ad XCE ad
sheet
E
sheet
E
Stem Leaf Stem Leaf Stem Leaf

1 12789 24 2 7 15 6 2 4 Mode Mode
(DIY)
2 28 25 2 4 6 6 8 16 8 6 1 3 9
3 1379 26 0 1 3 5 9 17 0 2 1 8 6 7 3 4
4 0126 28 5 6 6 8 18 4 1 5 2 7 1
12.12 SkillS
HEET
WORKED
Example 17 For each set of scores in questions 14 and 15, find the mode. Finding the score in a data
14 set that occurs most frequently
Questions 18 and 19 refer to the following set of scores:

1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 3, 3, 7, 6, 5, 4, 6, 2, 1, 8
18 multiple choice
The median of the given scores is:
A1 B 4.5 C4 D5 E 8
19 multiple choice
The mode of the given scores is:
A5 B 6 C4 D3 E 1
20 Over 10 matches, a soccer team scored the following number of goals:
2, 3, 1, 0, 4, 5, 2, 3, 3, 4.
a What was the most common number of goals scored?
b What was the median number of goals scored?
c In this case, does the mode or the median give a score that shows a typical
performance?
21 Here are Tiger Woods’s scores (numbers of strokes) hole by hole for the first 9 holes
of a major golf tournament.
Hole number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Score 4 4 3 2 4 3 3 2 4
a How many strokes were most commonly hit?

b What was his median score?
c As Woods prepares to tee off towards the next hole, how many strokes could the
crowd expect him to take to complete the hole? Discuss factors which could
me
E ti influence the outcome.
GAM
Data and 22 A small business pays the following annual wages (in thousands of dollars) to its
graphs employees: 18, 18, 18, 18, 26, 26, 26, 40, 80.
— 002
a What is the mode of the distribution?
SHEE
T 12.3 b What is the median wage?
Work
c What is the mean wage?

d Which measure would you expect the employee’s union to use in wage negotiations?
e Which might the boss use in such negotiations?
QU EST
S
M AT H
1 Find five numbers that have a mean of 10 and a median of 12.

NG
2 The mean of 5 different test scores is 15. What are the largest and
E
CH LL smallest possible test scores, given that the median is 12? All test scores
A
are whole numbers.
3 The mean of 5 different test scores is 10. What are the largest and smallest
possible values for the median? All test scores are whole numbers.
4 The mean of 9 different test scores that are whole numbers and range
from 0 to 100 is 85. The median is 80. What is the greatest possible range
between the highest and lowest possible test scores?
Two important inventions of 1862
Calculate
the mean, median
24 14 16 13 11 3 15 and mode for each set
of data to find the
puzzle’s code.
5 16 13 22 4 12 8
18 23 8 23 7 14 16 23 12
12 11 18 25 13 10 6 4 9 12
16 12 19 12 27 6 10 5 6 7
26 11 14 13 16 11 12 6
20 17 15 16 12
11 E = mean = H = mode =
A = mean = D = mode = G = median =
C = median = Age of university students (yrs)

Age Frequency
14 14 14 22 22
17 1
15 15 21 21 16 18 1
19 0
20 20 18 19 19 20 1
21 0
22 1
23 3
24 4
I = mean = L = mode = M = mean = P = mode =
K = median = N = median =
9 11 17 25 2 10 3 5 2
2 20 21 20 1 3 4 5 12
2 9 10 25 21 3 5 3
S = mean = U = mode = W = mean = I = mode =

T = median = A = median =
11 6 8 22 3 14 19 18 23 7
22 4 15 6 18 23 8 5 16 13
12 8 13 3 7 23 8 12 18 23 2 13 4
COMMUNICATION Denim blues

The owner of a clothing store sells denim jeans in the
following sizes.
12 12 14 16 18 12 14 10 8 12
12 14 8 12 18 10 10 10 12 14
What is the most typical size of denim jeans sold in this
store? Which size jeans should the store stock most of? Use
the following questions to guide you to an answer.
1 Place the data in a frequency distribution table including
a column for f × x and cumulative frequency.
2 Use the table to find the mean size of denim jeans sold.
3 Use the table to find the median size of denim jeans sold.
4 Which size of denim jeans sold is the mode?
5 Which of the mean, median and mode is most useful to
the owner of the clothing store? Explain your answer.
Measures of spread
In analysing a set of scores, it is helpful to see not only how the scores tend to cluster,
or how the middle of the set looks, but also how they spread or scatter. Two classes may
have the same average mark, but the spread of scores may differ considerably.
Range
The range of a set of scores is the difference between the highest and lowest scores.
WORKED Example 15
Find the range of the following sets of data.
a 7, 3, 5, 2, 1, 6, 9, 8.
b x 7 8 9 10
f 1 3 5 2
THINK WRITE
a 1 Obtain the highest and lowest values. a Highest value = 9
Lowest value = 1
2 Define the range. Range = highest value − lowest value
3 Substitute the known values into the =9−1
rule.
4 Evaluate. =8
5 Answer the question. The set of values has a range of 8.
THINK WRITE
b 1 Obtain the highest and lowest values. b Highest value = 10
Note: Consider the values only, not the Lowest value = 7
frequencies.
2 Define the range. Range = highest value − lowest value
3 Substitute the known values into the rule. = 10 − 7
4 Evaluate. =3
5 Answer the question. The frequency distribution table data
have a range of 3.
Mean absolute difference

When the range and mean of two data sets is exactly the same, information regarding
the measure of spread is limited. Another way to measure the spread of results is to com-
pare how far values are from the mean. This shows whether the range of values has been
caused by a few extreme values or whether values are spread consistently over the range.
The mean absolute difference can be obtained by following the given steps:
1. Subtract the mean from each data value.
Note: The calculation for mean absolute difference is performed in a pair of vertical
bars and is called the modulus. It means that you ignore the sign of the number. For
example, −7 = 7 and 7 = 7; that is, the absolute value (or modulus) of −7 is 7 and
the absolute value (or modulus) of −7 is 7.
2. Calculate the mean (average) of the absolute differences; that is,
(a) add each of the absolute differences
(b) divide the sum of the absolute differences by the number of data values.
The larger the mean absolute difference, the more spread out the data is.
WORKED Example 16
Calculate the mean absolute difference (correct to 1 decimal place) of the following data:
2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7; the mean is 4.
THINK WRITE
1 Subtract the mean from each data value, and Absolute difference: 2 – 4=– 2= 2
calculate the modulus or absolute value of Absolute difference: 2 – 4=– 2= 2
this number. Absolute difference: 3 – 4=– 1= 1
Absolute difference: 4 – 4=0= 0
2 Calculate the mean (average) of the absolute Mean absolute difference
differences; that is, 2+2+1+0+1+1+3
(a) add each of the absolute differences = -----------------------------------------------------------
7
(b) divide the sum of the absolute 10
differences by the number of data values. = ------
7
3 Evaluate and simplify. = 1.428 571 429
4 Round the answer to 1 decimal place. ≈ 1.4
WORKED Example 17
Calculate the mean absolute difference (correct to 2 decimal places) of the following data;
the mean is 3.5.
Score (x) Frequency (f)

0 1
1 1
2 8
3 13
4 16
5 11
THINK WRITE
1 Draw a table with 4 columns. The
column headings are, in order, Absolute
difference
‘Score (x)’, ‘Absolute difference, Absolute ×
x − x ’, ‘Frequency (f)’ and Score difference Frequency frequency
‘Absolute difference × frequency, (x) Ωx - x Ω (f) Ωx - x Ω ¥ f
x − x  × f ’. 0 0 – 3.5 = 3.5 1 3.5 × 1 = 3.5
Note: Remember x is the mean of
the data set. 1 1 – 3.5 = 2.5 1 2.5 × 1 = 2.5
2 Subtract the mean ( x ) from each 2 2 – 3.5 = 1.5 8 1.5 × 8 = 12
score value (x) leaving the answer as
a positive number. 3 3 – 3.5 = 0.5 13 0.5 × 13 = 6.5
3 Enter the absolute difference values 4 4 – 3.5 = 0.5 16 0.5 × 16 = 8
into the appropriate column.
4 Multiply the absolute difference 5 5 – 3.5 = 1.5 11 1.5 × 11 = 16.5
values by the corresponding Total 50 49
frequencies.
5 Enter the values obtained in step 4
into the appropriate column.
6 Determine the total for the frequency
column.
7 Determine the total for the x − x 
× f column.
8 Define the rule for the absolute mean Mean absolute difference
difference. total absolute difference × frequency values
= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
total frequency values
9 Substitute the known values into the 49
rule. = ------
50
10 Evaluate and simplify, rounding = 0.98
answer to 2 decimal places.
WORKED Example 18
The results of a test marked out of 20, given to three Year 8 classes, were collated and
organised in the following table.
a What were lowest and highest marks in each class?
b Can the range be used to indicate which class had the most consistent marks? Explain
your answer.
c Which class had the most consistent results? Explain your answer.
Class
A B C
Mean test score 10 10 10
Range 20 20 20
Mean absolute difference 2 10 5
THINK WRITE
a 1 Read the question carefully and a The test is marked out of 20 and the range is
highlight any relevant information. equal to 20.
Range = highest score − lowest value
= 20 − 0
= 20
2 Answer the question. For each class, the lowest mark was 0 and
the highest mark was 20.
b Compare the range values for each class b In this case the range cannot be used to
and answer the question. distinguish between the three groups as each
class had the same mean and range values.
c 1 Compare the mean absolute c
difference values for each class.
2 Select the class with the smallest Class A has the smallest mean absolute
mean absolute difference value and difference value. The smallest mean absolute
answer the question. difference value corresponds to more
consistent test results, because the scores are
Note: The smallest mean absolute
spread out less. Therefore, Class A’s test
difference value corresponds to more
results are the most consistent, followed by
consistent results, because the data
Class C. Class B’s test results are the least
are spread out less.
consistent.
remember
1. The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores.
2. The mean absolute difference is the average amount of variation of spread from
the mean.
12G Measures of spread
hca
d WORKED 1 Find the range of the following scores:
Example
a 5, 5, 7, 12, 13 b 28, 13, 17, 21, 18, 17, 14
Mat
15a
Median, c 2, 52, 46, 52, 48, 52, 48 d 4, 1.5, 1.7, 2.0, 1.8, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9
mode
and WORKED 2 Find the range of the following sets of data.
range Example
15b a x 6 7 8 9 10 b x 1 2 3 4 5 6
am –
rogr TI
GC p
f 1 5 10 7 3 f 7 9 6 8 10 10
Univariate
statistics
c x 5 10 15 20 d x 110 111 112 113 114
am – f 1 5 10 7 f 2 2 2 3 3
rogr Ca
sio
GC p
Univariate
3 Find the range of the data presented in the following stem-and-leaf plots.
statistics a Key: 1 5 = 15 b Key: 24 7 = 247 c Key: 17 4 = 174
Stem Leaf Stem Leaf Stem Leaf
1 12789 24 27 15 624
2 28 25 24668 16 86139
3 1379 26 01359 17 02186734
4 0126 28 5668 18 415271
WORKED 4 Calculate the mean absolute difference (correct to 1 decimal place) of the following
Example
16
data: 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8; the mean is 6.
5 The number of sunny days per week over a 10-week period were: 4, 4, 2, 2, 1, 5, 6, 6,
7, 3.
a Find the mean number of sunny days per week.
b Find the mean absolute difference.
6 For each group of numbers calculate the mean and the mean absolute difference
(correct to 2 decimal places where appropriate).
a 16, 17, 18, 18, 20
b 1, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12
c 95, 120, 115, 122, 114, 113, 112
7 Complete the following table and calculate the mean absolute difference.
Score Absolute Frequency Absolute difference

(x) difference (f) ¥ frequency
Ωx - x Ω Ωx - x Ω ¥ f
4 4 – 5.8 = 11 1.8 × 11 = 3.5

5 5 – 3.5 = 0.8 13 2.5 × 13 = 10.4
6 3.5 – 5.8 = 1.5 0.2 × 10 = 12
7 3.5 – 3.5 = 0.5 7 1.2 × 13 = 8.4
8 9 2.2 × 16 = 8
Total 50 60.4
WORKED 8 Calculate the mean absolute difference of the following data (correct to 2 decimal
Example
places where appropriate).
17
a The mean is 9. b The mean is 3.47.
Score (x) Frequency (f) Score (x) Frequency (f)
2 2 1.5 14
3 1 2.2 4
6 3 3.6 10
8 8 4.2 13
10 37 5.9 9
9 For each of the following tables of values, find:

i the mean ii range iii mean absolute difference.
Answers should be correct to 2 decimal places where appropriate.
a x 8.2 10.4 11.2 11.9 13.7 14.8

f 8 4 11 16 4 7
b x 107.1 113.7 123.5 128.3 136.4 149.5

f 4 3 5 8 3 2
c x 0.08 0.17 0.36 0.66 0.73

f 23 17 18 28 14
d x 40.2 40.3 40.9 41.9 42.4

f 10 7 6 2 5
WORKED 10 The results of a test marked out of 30, given to three Year 8 classes, were collated and
Example
18 organised in the following table.
a What were the lowest and highest marks in each class?
b Can the range be used to indicate which class had the most consistent marks?
Explain your answer.
c Which class had the most consistent results? Explain your answer.
Class
A B C
Mean test score 15 15 15
Range 30 30 30
Mean absolute difference 1.5 6.4 4.2
11 Samples of 10 icy-pole sticks made by three separate machines were collected and
entered in the following table. All lengths are given in millimetres.
Machine A 129.9 124.9 127.4 122.1 126.2 129.7 124.9 120.3 124.7 128.8
Machine B 127.7 121.8 127.5 120.4 128.5 130.0 127.4 129.9 125.2 124.5
Machine C 129.6 122.8 126.3 125.8 120.2 129.8 123.8 127.9 129.2 127.6
a For each machine find:

i the mean length of icy-pole sticks
ii the range
iii the mean absolute difference.
Answers should be correct to 2 decimal places where appropriate.
b Comment on the range of lengths produced.
c If the length of icy-pole sticks is required to be approximately 126 mm, which
machine is the most consistent? Explain your answer.
12 The following data represent the mathematics exam results (as percentages) for 28 Year
8 students:
65, 70, 67, 82, 71, 25, 83, 78, 58, 72, 94, 66, 86, 73, 71, 31, 71, 87, 65, 76, 86, 66, 98,
74, 84, 96, 100, 73
a Present the data as an ordered stem-and-leaf plot.
b Find the median result.
c Find the mode.
d Find the range.
e Comment on the results obtained by the class.
Analysing data
To understand what information the data give, and perhaps to draw conclusions from it,
we must appreciate what each statistical measure does.
Statistical
measures Definition and purpose
Mode The most common score or category. It tells us nothing about the
rest of the data. Data may have no mode, one mode or more than
one mode.
Median The score in the exact middle of the values placed in numerical
order. It tells us nothing about the rest of the data. It is unaffected
by exceptionally large or small scores.
Mean The sum of all the scores divided by the number of scores. It is
affected by exceptionally large or small scores.
Range The difference between the highest score and the lowest score. It
shows how far the scores are spread apart. It is particularly useful
when combined with the mean or the median.
Mean absolute The mean of the absolute value of the difference between each data
difference value and the mean. It shows us the average spread of data from the
mean of the data. It is useful when combined with the mean.
WORKED Example 19
Explain which statistical measure is referred to in these statements.
a The majority of people surveyed prefer Activ-8 sports drink.
b The ages of fans at the Rolling Stones concert varied from 8 to 80.
c The average Australian family has 2.5 children.
THINK WRITE
a 1 Write the statement and highlight the a The majority of people surveyed prefer
key word(s). Activ-8 sports drink.
2 Relate the highlighted word to one Majority implies most, which refers to the
of the statistical measures. mode.
3 Answer the question. This statement refers to the mode.
b 1 Write the statement and highlight the b The ages of fans at the Rolling Stones
key word(s). concert varied from 8 to 80.
2 Relate the highlighted word to one The statement refers to the range of fans’
of the statistical measures. ages at the concert.
3 Answer the question. This statement refers to the range.
c 1 Write the statement and highlight the c The average Australian family has 2.5
key word(s). children.
2 Relate the highlighted word to one The statement deals with surveying the
of the statistical measures. population (census) and finding out how
many children are in each family.
3 Answer the question. This statement refers to the mean.
WORKED Example 20
Elio’s batting scores in last year’s cricket series were 65, 30, 0, 0, 0, 80. Gaetano’s scores
were 0, 30, 30, 80, 25, 20 in the same matches.
a Calculate the range for each. Does this show that both had equal results?
b Find the mean absolute difference for each. Does this give a measure of their abilities?
c What combination of statistics is needed to give a better measure of their abilities?
THINK WRITE
a 1 Calculate the range for each person’s a Range = highest value – lowest value
batting scores by subtracting the Elio: Range = 80 – 0
lowest score from the highest score. Elio: Range = 80
Gaetano: Range = 80 – 0
Gaetano: Range = 80
2 Compare the ranges and answer the Elio’s and Gaetano’s range values are the
question. same. This does not show that they have
equal results as the range gives no
information of their other scores.
Continued over page
THINK WRITE
b 1 Calculate the mean of Elio’s batting b
scores:
(a) Calculate the total of the batting Elio’s total score = 65 + 30 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 80
scores. Elio’s total score = 175
(b) Count the number of batting Number of scores = 6
scores.
total scores
(c) Define the rule for the mean. Mean = -----------------------------------------
number of scores
175
(d) Substitute the known values into x = ---------
the rule. 6
(e) Evaluate, rounding the value to ≈ 29.2
1 decimal place.
2 Find the absolute difference of each Difference: |65 – 29.2| = 35.8
of Elio’s batting scores; that is, |30 – 29.2| = 0.8
subtract the mean from each data |0 – 29.2| = 29.2
value, leaving the answer as a |0 – 29.2| = 29.2
positive number. |0 – 29.2| = 29.2
|80 – 29.2| = 50.8
3 Calculate the mean (average) of the Mean absolute difference
absolute differences; that is, 35.8 + 0.8 + 29.2 + 29.2 + 29.2 + 50.8
= --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
175
= ---------
6
(a) add each of the absolute
differences
(b) divide the sum of the absolute
differences by the number of
data values.
4 Evaluate and simplify. = 29. 166 666 67
5 Round the answer to 1 decimal place. = 29.2
6 Repeat steps 1 to 5 for Gaetano’s Gaetano’s total score:
mean. = 0 + 30 + 30 + 80 + 25 + 20
= 185
Number of scores = 6
185
x = ---------
6
≈ 30.8
Difference: |0 – 30.8| = 30.8
|30 – 30.8| = 0.8
|30 – 30.8| = 0.8
|80 – 30.8| = 49.2
|25 – 30.8| = 5.8
|20 – 30.8| = 10.8
THINK WRITE
Mean absolute difference
30.8 + 0.8 + 0.8 + 49.2 + 5.8 + 10.8
= --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
98.2
= ----------
6
= 16. 366 666 67
≈ 16.4
7 Compare the mean absolute Gaetano’s results were more consistent than
difference values, and answer the Elio’s. However, as a measure by itself, it
question. does not give a measure of their abilities.
c Answer the question. c When both their batting means and mean
absolute difference values are compared, it
can be seen that Gaetano’s batting average is
slightly higher and that he is more consistent
than Elio.
remember
This is a summary of what each statistical measure does.
Mean: Uses all the scores as a total, divided by the number of scores.
Median: The score in the exact middle of values placed in numerical order.
Mode: The most common value or category.
Range: The highest score minus the lowest score.
Mean absolute difference: Shows the average spread of data from the mean of the
data.
12H Analysing data

Math
cad
WORKED 1 Explain which statistical measure is referred to in these statements. Summary

Example statistics
19
a There was a 15° temperature variation during the day.
b Children at this school are absent 3.4 days per semester, on average.
c Most often you have to pay $79.95 for those sports shoes. program
GC
d The average Australian worker earns about $470 per week.
–TI
e A middle-income family earns about $35 000 per annum. Univariate

statistics
WORKED 2 Frank scored 5, 7, 6, 8, 7 in a series of spelling tests. Erik scored 8, 8, 6, 8, 9 in the
Example
20
same tests.
am
a Calculate the range for each. Does this show that both had equally good results? progr –C
GC
asio
b Find the mean absolute difference for each. Does this give a measure of their Univariate
abilities? Answers where appropriate should be correct to 2 decimal places. statistics
c What combination of statistics is needed to give a better measure of their abilities?
3 The following scores were made by four teams in sports matches.

Jackals: 4, 0, 5, 9, 4, 8 Panthers: 7, 10, 10, 11, 10, 9
Wallabies: 2, 15, 1, 17, 10, 3 Tigers: 9, 10, 20, 25, 0, 14
a Which team has the highest mean?
b Compare modal scores for Jackals and Panthers.
c Find the median score for each team.
d Which team shows the greatest range of scores?
4 End of semester tests produced the following results in mathematics for a class:
Rating A B C D E
Number of students 3 8 10 5 2
a What is the mode?

b What is the median rating?
c Is it possible to calculate the mean and mean absolute difference? Explain.
5 Jennifer’s batting scores in indoor cricket were: 28, 35, 31, 29, 37, 30, 34, 40, 28, 33.
a What measure shows the degree of consistency in her performances? Calculate it.
b Find the mean, mean absolute difference, median and mode.
c Which of the measures in b would selectors use to evaluate her performance? Why?
d If you were Jennifer, would you use the mode to describe your record to others?
Explain your reasoning.
6 Here are Mark’s scores in the same matches as Jennifer in question 5:

57, 14, 68, 0, 22, 80, 9, 49, 16, 62
a Find range, mean, mean absolute difference, median and mode.
b Compare each measure with Jennifer’s from question 5.
c If you were the team selector, whom would you choose? Give reasons.
d Which measure would Mark use in talking about his performance? Explain.
DESIGN Analysing your class data

You will need: Personal data sheets
Analyse your class statistically by using the measures range, mode, median, mean
and mean absolute difference for the attributes for which you gathered data: age,
height, and so on. Develop a profile of the ‘average’ student in your class. You may
like to compare the results from your class with another class’s results.
COMMUNICATION Footy season
Let us look at the data presented at the start of this chapter. Jemma obtained the
following data for the results of her AFL football team over a season. The points
scored in 20 matches were:
85, 96, 118, 93, 73, 71, 98, 77, 106, 64, 73, 88, 62, 97, 104, 85, 73, 92, 62, 76, 90,
79
1 Decide on an appropriate class interval and complete a frequency distribution
table.
2 Display these data as a histogram and overlay it with a frequency polygon.
3 What is the modal class of these data?
4 Display the data as a stem-and-leaf plot.
5 Calculate a the mean b the mode c the median.
6 What is the range of the data?
7 What is the mean absolute difference of the data?
8 What conclusions can you draw from analysing these data?
Michael has obtained a similar set of data for his local football team. The points
scored in 20 matches were:
83, 75, 93, 67, 62, 105, 118, 96, 84, 99, 92, 81, 88, 93, 100, 98, 87, 104, 84, 76,
115, 80
9 Repeat the analysis described in 1 to 8 above.
10 Compare the two sets of data. Write a summary of your findings.
11 At the start of the season, the president of Jemma’s football club offered an
incentive to the team. If the team’s average over the season was 90 or more,
they would be rewarded with a night out at a restaurant. Does the team receive
their reward?
12 If Michael’s football team had the same incentive plan, would they receive the
reward? Explain your answer.
COMMUNICATION Obtaining your own data

1 Use the Internet or library to obtain two sets of data related to an area of interest
to you. (Try the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ website, www.abs.gov.au.)
Write a report on the analysis of these data. Explain whether the data have been
obtained from a sample or from the entire population.
2 Collect two sets of data for yourself by surveying students in your class on a
question of your choice. For the first set, survey the whole population of your
class (census). For the second set, work out a way of randomly choosing
10 students (sample).
Write a report on your findings. How do the two sets of data compare? What
are the advantages and disadvantages of using a sample compared to surveying
a whole population?
Note: When comparing the data, make use of the mean, mean absolute difference,
mode, median, range and graphs.
summary
Copy the sentences below. Fill in the gaps by choosing the correct word or
expression from the word list that follows.
1 Statistics involves collecting data using a survey of samples of
the target , or of the whole population (census).
2 The data are then sorted into a frequency table, which shows
each score and the number of times it occurs.
3 To display the results we can use and charts, consisting of
data arranged in columns and rows; column graphs, bar graphs or
graphs.
4 Column and bar graphs should have these features:
i an appropriate
ii labelled and clearly scaled
iii all columns or bars of the width.
5 Histograms are special graphs showing scores on the hori-
zontal (x) axis and (f ) on the vertical axis. No gaps are left
between columns, which straddle the scale marks on the x-axis.
6 Frequency are special line graphs joining the midpoints of
the top of the columns, and starting and finishing on the
x-axis.
7 A and plot resembles a histogram turned on its
side.
8 Data analysis uses the (average) = total of all scores ÷ number
of scores, median ( score), and (most common
score) as measures of how scores cluster.
9 The is defined as the highest score minus the lowest score
and gives an overall impression of how scores tend to .
10 The mean and range are both used to measure
how the data is spread.
WORD LIST
mode spread range tables stem
distribution random column same difference
axes mean absolute line histogram
middle population frequency polygons
leaf title
CHAPTER
review
1 A random sample of 24 families was surveyed to
determine the number of vehicles in each household.
Cars Frequency 12A
Use the frequency distribution column at right to answer 0 6
the following questions.
a How many families have no vehicles in their 1 4
household?
2 8
b How many families have 2 or more vehicles in their
household? 3 5
c Which score has the highest frequency?
d Which is the highest score? 4 1
e What fraction of families had 2 vehicles in their Total 24
household?
2 The following table represents the statistics for the various Rugby League teams.
Key: P = matches played W = number won 12A
D = number drawn L = number lost
F = points for A = points against
Pts = competition points awarded
Standings
RUGBY LEAGUE
Brisbane
P
5
W
5
D
—
L
—
F
166
A
58
Pts
10
Newcastle 5 5 — — 146 64 10
Wests 5 4 — 1 114 56 8
Parramatta 5 4 — 1 112 68 8
Melbourne 5 4 — 1 102 78 8
North Queensland 5 4 — 1 78 95 8
Sydney 5 3 — 2 110 85 6
St George–Illawarra 5 3 — 2 105 102 6
North Sydney 4 2 — 2 84 58 4
Penrith 5 2 — 3 126 119 4
Canberra 5 2 — 3 90 86 4
Auckland 5 2 — 3 87 111 4
Cronulla 5 2 — 3 68 102 4
Canterbury 5 1 — 4 76 98 2
South Sydney 4 1 — 3 46 88 2
Manly–Warringah 5 1 — 4 62 106 2
a How many matches had most teams played?
b Which teams had won 3 matches and lost 2?
c Which team shows the narrowest gap between F and A?
d Why is Brisbane placed ahead of Newcastle if they have both gained the same number
of competition points?
e How many points are awarded for a win?
3 This table shows the maximum and minimum daily temperatures in a city over a one-week
12A period.
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Maximum (°C) 12 13 10 11 9 10 8
Minimum (°C) 3 3 2 1 0 4 2
Use the table to answer the following questions.

a What was the maximum temperature on day 3?
b Which day had the lowest minimum temperature?
c Which day was the coldest?
d Which day had the warmest minimum temperature?
e What was the temperature range (variation) on day 2?
f Which day had the smallest range of temperatures?
4 The table below shows the components that make up the body mass of a typical teenager.
12B
Bone Brain Fat Blood Muscle Other
12.5 kg 2.5 kg 5 kg 10 kg 25 kg 5 kg
a What is the teenager’s total mass?

b What fraction of the teenager’s
body mass is muscle?
c How much more mass of blood
than fat does he have?
d What percentage of the total
mass is the brain?
e Draw a column graph to display
the data.
5 This table below shows the weekly

12B expenses of a typical Australian family.
Item Amount ($)

Food and drink 120
Rent or mortgage 180
Transport 60
Clothing 40
Recreation 60
Other 140
a Select a suitable title and draw a bar graph.

b Which item is the least expensive?
c Which item is half as expensive as food and drink?
d What fraction of the family’s expenses goes on other expenses?
e What percentage of the family’s expenses goes on rent and mortgage?
6 The graph at right represents
the acre–hectare conversion. Acre–hectare conversion graph
12C
a Convert to hectares: 4
3
Hectares
i 5 acres
ii 7.4 acres. 2
b Convert to acres: 1
i 4 hectares 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ii 2.4 hectares Acres
iii 3.5 hectares.
7 The table below represents the estimated insect population in a particular region of Victoria.
12C
Year Population
1980 120 000

1990 160 000
2000 230 000
2010 330 000
2020 460 000
a Draw a line graph to display the data in the table of insect population growth. Label the
horizontal axis ‘Year’ and the vertical axis ‘Population’. Choose your own scale for the
horizontal axis. Use the scale 1 cm = 50 000 for the vertical axis, starting at 100 000.
b i Which decade showed the smallest increase?
ii Which decade showed the largest increase?
c i What should be the approximate population in 2009?
ii What should be the approximate population in 2015?
d If the trends continue, in what year should the insect population reach:
i 250 000 ii 370 000?
8 A number of people were asked to rate a video on a scale of 0 to 5. Here are their scores:
1, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 3, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 5, 3, 1, 0 12D
a Sort the data into a frequency distribution table.
b Display the data as a histogram with a frequency polygon overlay.
9 The number of hours spent watching TV on a Friday night by students in a selected Year 8
class is: 1 1--- , 2, 0, 1--- , 1, 2, 1 1--- , 3, 0, 1--- , 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 1--- , 0, 1, 4, 2, 1--- , 1, 0, 2, 1 1--- , 0, 1 1--- .
12D
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
a Compile a frequency distribution table of the data.

b How many students were surveyed?
c What was the most common time that students spent watching TV?
d How many students spent more than 2 hours watching TV?
e How many students watched less than 1 hour of TV?
f Display the data as a histogram with a frequency polygon overlay.
10 The following data give the speed of 30 cars recorded by a roadside speed camera along a
stretch of road where the speed limit is 80 km/h. 12E
75, 90, 83, 92, 103, 96, 110, 92, 102, 93, 78, 94, 104, 85, 88, 82, 81, 115, 94, 84, 87, 86, 96,
71, 91, 91, 92, 104, 88, 97
Present the data as an ordered stem-and-leaf plot.
11 Comment on the data recorded by the roadside speed camera in question 10.
12E
12 Calculate the mean of the following scores 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 4 and 6.
12F
13 The mean of 10 scores was 5.5; nine of the scores were: 4, 5, 6, 8, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9; what was
12F the tenth score?
Questions 14 and 15 refer to the following distribution table.
x 2 3 5 6
f 3 2 8 2
14 Calculate the mean of the given frequency distribution table.

12F
15 For the given frequency distribution table, determine:
12F,G a the mode b the median c the range.
16 a Determine the mode of the following values: 3, 2, 6, 5, 9, 8, 1, 7. Explain your answer.

12F,G b Determine the median of the following values: 10, 6, 1, 9, 8, 5, 17, 3.
c Calculate the range of the following values: 1, 6, 15, 7, 21, 8, 41, 7.
17 Find the mode, median and range of the data in question 8.

12F,G
18 A frozen goods section manager recorded the following sales of chickens by size during a
12H sample week:
16, 14, 13, 12, 15, 14, 13, 11, 12, 14, 14, 16, 15, 13, 11, 12, 14, 13, 15, 17, 13, 12, 14, 16,
13, 11, 15, 14, 12, 11, 15, 12, 13, 12, 12, 15, 13, 11, 11, 13, 16, 13, 12, 15, 17, 13, 14, 16,
12, 15
a Construct a frequency distribution table showing x, f, and x × f columns. You may
include a tally column if you wish.
b Draw a histogram to display the data.
c Identify the mode of the distribution.
d Calculate the mean and median sizes of the chickens sold.
e Of which size should the manager order most? Explain.
f What is the range of sizes?
g What percentage of total sales are in the size 12 to 14 group?
h Is the mean a useful measure to the manager? Explain.
19 The following table displays the results of the number of pieces of mail delivered in a week
12F,G,H to a number of homes.
Number of pieces of mail 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Frequency 7 25 34 11 8 2 4 5 3 1
a What is the most common number of pieces of mail delivered?

b What is the mean number of pieces of mail delivered?
test
yourself c Calculate the range.
CHAPTER
d Calculate the mean absolute difference.

12 e Interpret the data.

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Data and

Are you ready? READY?

12.2 Reading scales. (How much is each interval worth?)

COMMUNICATION Samples and surveys

Totally Strongly Moderately Neither Moderately Strongly Totally

Making your SRC work

Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal

Replacement of worn sporting equipment

50 CAS calculators for student use.

4 I am prepared to assist with ALL / SOME / A FEW / NONE of the SRC

Homemade $1.80 $3.00 $5.00

2 Answer the question. The cost of a large homemade pie is $3.00.

b 1 Obtain the price of a family lasagne. b Cost of a family lasagne = $6.95

c 1 Obtain the price of large fries. c Cost of large fries = $2.50

e 1 Obtain the cost of 2 large fries. e Cost of large fries = 2 × $2.50

Family fries 4.00

g 1 To obtain the family price of a g Family pizza ≈ 3 × $6.00

12A Tables and charts

Use the table to answer the following:

0 0 $16 $30 $42 $55

1 $30 $46 $60 $72 $85

2 $58 $88 $100 $113

3 $84 $100 $126 $139

4 $100 $116 $130 $155

Parties of over 4 adults and 4 children by special arrangement

3 The country is divided into local

Rate 1 min 3 min 5 min 10 min 20 min 30 min

Peak 25c 75c $1.25 $2.50 $5.00 $7.50

Off-peak 18c 54c $1.90c $1.80 $3.60 $5.40

a Use the table to calculate the cost of a 3-minute call:

Timetable — Silver Streak Train Line

Mathsville 7.00 am 6.00 pm 7.30 am

Integral 7.45 6.45 8.15

Addsville 9.30 8.30 10.00

Greater Rock 10.30 9.30 11.00

Pronumeral Arrive 11.30 10.30 12.00 noon

Meal Break Leave 12.30 pm no stop 1.00 pm

Halftown 1.20 11.20 1.50

Wholetown 2.25 12.25 am 2.55

Geometric 3.05 1.05 3.35

Use the timetable to answer the following.

Air Economy Sea EMS EMS

Source: Australia Post

COMMUNICATION Staying alive

1 What is the cost of a large Hot salami pizza?

Questions 8 to 10 refer to the following table. A number of people were surveyed as to

9 What fraction of people surveyed Water sport Number of people

Column and bar graphs

Number preferring (frequency)

b 1 Add the numbers corresponding to b Number of students = 8 + 6 + 4 + 3 + 2

d 1 Obtain the number of students d Students preferring horses = 2

e 1 Subtract the number of students who e Number of students = 28 − 23

Continued over page

Provide a title for the graph that

12B Column and bar graphs

12.1 WORKED 1 This column graph represents the Jumpin’ Jeans

Bar be? Why? 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Age group Number of millions

a Draw a bar graph to display the data.

Questions 5, 6 and 7 relate to the following table.

Number of bedrooms Number of houses

7 multiple choice SHEE

The number of houses surveyed in Statistics Street is:

Name: ______________________ Class: 8 Date: _/_/_

Age _ years _ months