Display Data in Dot Plots and Histograms

Students create dot plots (line plots) and histograms to display numerical data. They choose appropriate intervals for histograms, read displays to answer questions about the data, and describe the distribution they observe.

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Grade 6 · Statistics and Data Analysis · question 1 of 3

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20 rungs. A star at the top.

The number of trips to the pool was counted, and the results are in this dot plot. What number of trips to the pool is the most common?

Your answer:

How it is taught

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A dot plot puts one dot for each value.

Frequency is how many dots sit over a number.

Read it: Reading dot plots and histograms

On this dot plot of pets per family, 5 dots stand over 3, so 5 families have 3 pets, and 3 is the mode. All the dots together, 2 + 5 + 3, make 10 values.

Find a value on the line and count the dots standing over it.
The tallest stack is the mode.
On a histogram, read each bar's height on the frequency axis, and add the heights for how many values there are.

The line says which value; the dots say how many times it occurs.

A histogram groups the values into bins, so it shows how many fall in each bin, not each value.

Every dot, and every bar's count, is part of the data, so adding them gives how many values there are.

Count the dots, or read the bars' heights: the scale says where, not how many.

Counting the numbers on the line instead of the dots over 3.

Count the dots over 3: there are 5, so 5 families have 3 pets.

A dot plot has 1 dot over 2, 5 over 4 and 3 over 5. How many values are there in all? — 9. Each dot is one value: 1 + 5 + 3 = 9.

Pets per classmate (12 students)

Twelve classmates each said how many pets they have. How can we see the pattern in their answers?

Here are their answers. It's hard to spot the pattern in a long list of numbers.

Let's draw a number line from zero to four — every possible answer.

Two kids have zero pets. We stack two dots above zero.

Three kids have one pet. Three dots above one.

Four kids have two pets. Four dots above two.

Two kids have three pets. Two dots above three.

And one kid has four pets. One dot above four.

Look at this dot plot. The tallest stack is at two — that's the most common answer, called the mode.

Grade 6 · Turning a list of numbers into a dot plot

The dots cluster near two, then tail off to the right. We call that skewed right.

That's a dot plot! It turns a messy list into a picture of the whole data set.

Now you try. Find the tallest stack on this dot plot. Which value has the most?

What you see

While they climb, your page writes one true line to ask about tonight, and a short note each Sunday.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Did you know?

A chessboard has 64 squares — share them out between the 8 rows and each row holds exactly 8.

Today’s goal: 1 star — one skill mastered, every rung of its ladder climbed
Climbing now: Divide within 100

An example student.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Maya earned 2 stars this week — Interpret multiplication as equal groups, which took 6 answers over 3 days before its star landed 3 days ago and Multiply by 6, 7, 8 and 9. Next up: Divide within 100.

An example week.

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