Student Worksheet: Histograms

Bar charts help us visualize the magnitude of numbers that occur in a table, but we would also like to see how the data are distributed.

A histogram is a graph that will help us see how frequently values occur within the range. Looking at a histogram, we can easily read the range the data falls in, what values occur most commonly, and the approximate mean and median values.

1. Below your graph, click on the Reduce Characteristics List button.
2. In the window with characteristics, select

• Total population by sex and age groups – 100% data
• Female, 10 to 14 years

(Multiple selections can be made by holding down the Control key, then clicking on the chosen selection.)

Under Screen outputs - Graph, click on the first Histogram icon.

E-STAT computes the minimum and maximum values and then divides this range into 10 equal interval classes. E-STAT then counts how many values fall within each of these 10 classes. The resulting histogram is a type of bar chart that displays how many values fall within each interval.

1. To improve the labeling of this histogram, click on the Modify Graphic button.
2. In the Title box, type "Percent of Provincial or Territorial Population in the Female 10-to-14 age group".
3. In the Subtitle box, type "Frequency".
4. Click on the Redraw button.

Analysis:

1. Which of the 10 classes in your histogram is the mode (i.e. which range of values on your histogram is most frequent among the 13 provinces/territories)?