Frequency Diagrams 1
This activity from Subtangent reviews frequency diagrams and includes examples of histograms, frequency polygons and stem and leaf diagrams.
Thorough descriptions of how to create a grouped frequency table and the details of the construction of the axes for histograms are included.
The advantage of using frequency polygons to compare two or more sets of data is demonstrated, as is the link between stem and leaf diagrams and histograms.
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Review
Activity time: 5 minutes
Level / prior knowledge: KS4 Higher/Mean/Mode/Median/Range
Subject / curriculum links / skills: Data Handling/Displaying data in Physics/Engineering/Technology
Preparation time: Almost none; simply explain the activity and double click the coinRaces_applet.swf file.
Extra resources: Ensure a .swf file (flash) does work on the school computer before using it. Put this on your memory stick and then double click the file on the actual computer to be used. This simple, but necessary, test is required.
Commentary: Using the Flash application gives a menu that provides 3 presentations.
This resource was used as a starter in 3 lessons, but it could also be used as a plenary as well.
First Histograms
This gave an example of a bar chart measuring 23 student’s heights; my pupils understood the need for a new way of displaying this data after showing a bar chart does not reveal key information. They understood how a frequency table is drawn up and how plots in the histogram show how it shows the modal height.
Second Frequency Polygons
This was fully understood by my pupils after they had completed frequency diagrams and importantly why it is good for frequency distribution comparisons. By giving an example with two sets of data and stepping through the conversion taught them the mean is similar and the data is quite different.
Thirdly Stem-and-Leaf diagrams
I used this as an introduction for Stem and Leaf by showing results from a boys maths test and it steps through how to produce a stem-and-leaf diagram from the raw data using examples. They grasped the concepts and gained understanding as it shows how this can be used for a frequency diagram in an animated example.
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