I AM CONFUSED ABOUT READING STEM/LEAF PLOTS. CAN SOMEONE HELP?
These sites have clear explanations and charts about stem/leaf plots.
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http://www.purplemath.com/modules/stemleaf.htm
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objid=TMH1101
Lesson 7: Stem-and-Leaf Plots CE 2015
Math 6 A Unit 3: Data and Graphs
CAN SOMEONE HELP
Of course, I can help you understand how to read stem-and-leaf plots! Stem-and-leaf plots are a way to organize and display a set of data, often used in statistics. They provide a visual representation of the distribution of data values.
To read a stem-and-leaf plot, you need to understand its structure. The plot consists of two parts: the stem and the leaf. The stem represents the tens or higher place digits, while the leaves represent the ones place digits.
Let's take an example of a stem-and-leaf plot to help explain it further. Consider the data set: 12, 15, 23, 28, 31, 35, 42, 47, 51. Here's how you can create a stem-and-leaf plot for this data:
Step 1: Separate the tens digit from each number and write them in ascending order as the stems. In our example, the stems would be 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Step 2: Write the ones digit for each number next to its respective stem. Align the leaves accordingly. For our data set, the stem-and-leaf plot would look like this:
1 | 2 5
2 | 3 8
3 | 1 5
4 | 2 7
5 | 1
This plot represents the original data set in a condensed manner. It tells us that we have data points ranging from 12 to 51.
To read the plot, you simply look at the stems and their corresponding leaves. For example, in the plot above, for the stem "1," we have leaves "2" and "5." It means we have two data points in the 10s place starting with "1," which are 12 and 15.
Stem-and-leaf plots are useful for quickly understanding the distribution, range, and frequency of data values. By displaying the data in this organized manner, it becomes easier to spot patterns and outliers.
I hope this explanation helps you understand how to read stem-and-leaf plots! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.