STATISTICS • FREQUENCY TABLES 271
Frequency tables
A frequency table is a way of summarizing a set of data.
The table shows you exactly how many times each
number, event, or item occurs in the set of data.
This frequency table is
based on the survey of how
children travelled to school. The
frequency column shows you
how many children used each
type of transport.
Frequency tables don’t
always look the same. The
table here uses the same data
as the one above, but it doesn’t
include the tally marks. This
makes the table simpler and
easier to understand.
Some frequency tables
split up data so it reveals
more information. This table
tells you how many adults and
children visited a dinosaur
museum each day during one
week. It also tells you the total
number of visitors there were
(adults + children) each day.
You can create a frequency
table by counting the tally
marks in a tally chart and writing
the totals in a separate column. Walk
Car
Bike
Bus
Train
18
10
9
3
2
Frequency is shown
only as numbers
The museum is
closed on Mondays
Count the tally
marks and put the
totals in this column
The frequency of
something tells you how
often it happens.
How we travelled to school
Transport Tally Frequency
Travelling to school
Frequency
Walk
Car
Bike
Bus
Train
18
10
9
3
2
Dinosaur
Museum
visitor
numbers
Day
Monday 0
Tuesday 301
Wednesday 146
Thursday 312
Friday 458
Saturday 576
Sunday 741
Transport
Adults Children Total
(^00)
(^326627)
348 494
253 565
374 832
698 1274
639 1380
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