How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

270 STATISTICS •^ TALLY MARKS

Tally marks

We can use tally marks to count things quickly when we’re

collecting data, such as answers to a survey question. A tally

mark is a vertical line that represents one thing counted.

Draw a tally mark to show

each result you record. For

every fifth tally mark, draw a line

across the previous four. This is

how the numbers one to five

look when written as tally marks.

A tally chart, such as the

one below, uses tally

marks to show the results

of a survey.

Arranging tally marks into

groups of five helps you to

work out the total quickly. First,

count all the groups of five, then

add any remaining tallies. This is

how 18 looks in tally marks.

You make a tally mark

for each thing that

you count.

Each tally

mark represents

one child

Nine

children

go by

bike

How do you travel to school?

Walk

Car

Bike

Bus

Train

REAL WORLD MATHS

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

Other tally marks

Tally marks vary across the world. In some

Asian countries, they are based on a

Chinese symbol made up of five strokes.

In parts of South America, four lines are

drawn to make a square, then a diagonal

line is drawn across it for the fifth mark.

5 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 18

1 2 3 4 5

270_271_Tables.indd 270 29/02/2016 18:06