Frequency Tables
Frequency tables show the frequency, or number, of items in each category or numerical interval.
How to Create a Frequency Table
The following is information about high school students’ favorite after school activities.
Each student in a math class was asked to choose their favorite after school activity from the following: hang out with friends, talk on the phone, play sports, earn money, or use computers. The results were 12 students liked to hang out with friends, 8 students liked to talk on the phone, 6 students liked to play sports, 5 students liked to earn money, and 3 students liked to use computers.
Use the above information to create a frequency table.
Constructing a Frequency Table |
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| What To Do | Example | ||||||||||||
| 1) Make a table that identifies the different categories. | 1) Favorite Student After School Activities
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| 2) Count the number of data items that fall into each category. Make sure that you have labeled your frequency table, categories, and data items. | 2) See table below. | ||||||||||||
| Favorite Student After School Activities | |
| Activity | # of Students |
| Hang out with friends | 12 |
| Talk on phone | 8 |
| Play sports | 6 |
| Earn money | 5 |
| Use computers | 3 |
Strengths of Frequency Tables
The following is a list of some of the strengths of a frequency table that can help you determine whether a frequency table is a good choice for your data.