MA121: Introduction to Statistics

The stem and leaf diagram is not practical for large data sets, so we need a different, purely graphical way to represent data. A frequency histogram is such a device. We will illustrate it using the same data set from the previous subsection. For the 30 scores on the exam, it is natural to group the scores on the standard ten-point scale, and count the number of scores in each group. Thus there are two 100s, seven scores in the 90s, six in the 80s, and so on. We then construct the diagram shown in Figure 2.3 "Frequency Histogram" by drawing for each group, or class, a vertical bar whose length is the number of observations in that group. In our example, the bar labeled 100 is 2 units long, the bar labeled 90 is 7 units long, and so on. While the individual data values are lost, we know the number in each class. This number is called the frequency of the class, hence the name frequency histogram.

The same procedure can be applied to any collection of numerical data. Observations are grouped into several classes and the frequency (the number of observations) of each class is noted. These classes are arranged and indicated in order on the horizontal axis (called the x-axis), and for each group a vertical bar, whose length is the number of observations in that group, is drawn. The resulting display is a frequency histogram for the data. The similarity in Figure 2.1 "Stem and Leaf Diagram" and Figure 2.3 "Frequency Histogram" is apparent, particularly if you imagine turning the stem and leaf diagram on its side by rotating it a quarter turn counterclockwise.

In general, the definition of the classes in the frequency histogram is flexible. The general purpose of a frequency histogram is very much the same as that of a stem and leaf diagram, to provide a graphical display that gives a sense of data distribution across the range of values that appear. We will not discuss the process of constructing a histogram from data since in actual practice it is done automatically with statistical software or even handheld calculators.