1.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

COLLECTING AND
PRESENTING DATA
Today, we live in the Information Age. The world economy has progressed from manufacturing
products to the complex task of processing data to manage the needs of a growing population.
Statistics are used by governments to plan for community facilities, by scientists and economists
to predict the future, by businesses to forecast sales and by advertisers to help sell products.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
S1.1 1.01 Interpreting graphs
S1.1 1.02 Misleading graphs
S1.1 1.03 Types of data
S1.1 1.04 Sampling techniques
S1.1 1.05 Constructing graphs
S1.1 1.06 Frequency histograms and polygons
S1.1 1.07 Dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots
IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL:
• interpret and construct a variety of statistical graphs and displays: bar charts, sector graphs,
divided bar graphs, line graphs, Pareto charts, tables, frequency histograms and polygons, dot
plots and stem-and-leaf plots
• identify graphs that mislead and misrepresent
• classify data as numerical (either discrete or continuous) or categorical (either nominal or ordinal)
• distinguish between a sample and a population, and the collection of data for each
• distinguish between random, systematic, stratified and self-selected sampling, and determine the
appropriateness of each type for a given situation
• identify bias in sampling

iStockphoto/Pinkypills
 TERMINOLOGY
bar chart bias biased sample
categorical data census class centre
class interval cluster continuous data
discrete data divided bar graph dot plot
frequency histogram frequency polygon line graph
nominal data numerical data ordinal data
Pareto chart population random sample
sample sample size sector graph
self-selected sample statistics stem-and-leaf plot
stratified sample survey systematic sample

SkillCheck
1 Match each statistical display to its correct name from this list:
WS
bar chart (column graph)       divided bar graph   dot plot
Assignment
Homework1
line graph         sector graph     
stem-and-leaf plot

a b
3 044
4 36668
5 2457
6 133

c 100 d

Rugby Union
80
Hockey
Netball

League
Soccer

Rugby
AFL

60
40
20
0
0 5 10 15 20 25

2 Draw the two statistical displays from the list in Question 1 that were not illustrated
in the question.

3 Write the size of one unit on each vertical scale.

a b c
35 4000
80
30 3500
60
25 3000
40
20 2500
20
15 2000

4 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 4 a What fraction of this rectangle is shaded?
b What percentage of this rectangle is shaded?

5 a What fraction of this circle is shaded?

b What percentage of this circle is shaded?
126°
6 The ages of the patients at a hospital were grouped into
the class intervals 0–9, 10–19, 20–29 and so on. What is the
class centre of the interval 20–29?

1.01 Interpreting graphs WS

Graphs are used to display statistical information in an attractive and meaningful way.
Every picture tells a
Homework
Four simple types of graph are: story

• bar chart, also known as a column graph

• line graph
• sector graph, also known as a pie chart
• divided bar graph.

EXAMPLE 1

This bar chart shows the number of Internet song downloads

350
songs downloaded from the Internet
Number of song downloads

by a group of teenagers each month 300

over 7 months. 250
200
a What is the size of one unit on
150
the vertical axis?
100
b How many songs were 50
downloaded in April?
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July
c In which month were 100 songs
Month
downloaded?
d In which month were the highest number of songs downloaded? Suggest a reason
why this may be so.

Solution

a     10 songs b       280 songs c        July

d January. Teenagers may have had more time or money after Christmas to download songs.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 5

 EXAMPLE 2

This sector graph shows the overseas countries Australian students overseas
where Australian students studied during Canada
6% Germany
one year.
4%
a What was the second most popular overseas
Other
country for Australian students to study in? 17%
b What percentage of students chose neither New
the United Kingdom (UK) nor the United Zealand
28%
States of America (USA)? USA
29%
c If a total of 3685 students was surveyed, UK
how many of them went to Canada? 16%

d Calculate, correct to the nearest degree, the

angle size of the ‘Other’ countries sector.

Solution

a New Zealand
b 100% − 16% − 29% = 55% Or 17% + 6% + 4% + 28% = 55%
c 6% × 3685 = 221.1 ≈ 221
221 students went to Canada.
d 17% × 360° = 61.2° ≈ 61° There are 360° in a circle.

Exercise 1.01 Interpreting graphs

Example
1 This bar chart shows the percentage Risky/High Risk Alcohol Consumption
18
1 of Australians drinking alcohol at a
16
‘risky’ or ‘high risk’ level in five different
years. 14
12
a What percentage of people were
Percentage

10
drinking at a risky/high risk level
8
in 2013?
6
b What was the percentage increase
4
in risky/high risk drinking in the
2
4 years after the 2009 survey?
0
1995 2001 2005 2009 2013
Year

6 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 c If 35 750 people were surveyed in 2009, how many were drinking at a risky/high
risk level?
d If 43 320 people were surveyed in 2013, how many were not drinking at a
risky/high risk level?
e Comment on the percentage of Australians drinking alcohol at a risky/high risk
level between 2005 and 2009.
f Comment on the statement: ‘The percentage of Australians drinking at a risky/high
risk level has doubled between 1995 and 2013’.
g Predict what might happen in the results of the next survey.

2 This sector graph shows how Frank’s Pizza Frank’s Pizza Parlour: Expenses Example
Parlour spends its budget. 2
a What fraction of his budget does Frank
spend on ingredients? Ingredients
Labour 25%
b What is the largest expense? 35%

c For each family-size pizza Frank sells Advertising

for $17.50, how much of this is profit? Overheads 5%
Profit
20%
d If $325 per week is spent on advertising, 15%
what is his total weekly budget?
e What is the angle size of the ‘Profit’ sector
on the graph?
f Overheads are business expenses, such as rent. Calculate how much Frank spends
on overheads if his weekly budget is $5300.

3 This divided bar graph shows causes of bushfires during one summer.

Causes of bushfires
Unknown
Natural
causes

Arson Accident Suspicious

a What fraction of bushfires were caused by arsonists?

b What percentage of bushfires were accidental?
c Which cause was linked to 37.5% of bushfires?
d If there were 275 bushfires during summer, how many were started by natural
causes?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 7

 4 This graph shows the percentage of people in each age group and gender who are smokers.

Prevalence of smoking
30
Males
Females
25

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), National Health Survey:

20
Percentage (%)

15

10

Summary of Results 2014–15

5

0
18–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75 and over
Age group (years)

a Which gender has the higher percentage of smokers?

b Which age group contains the highest percentage of male smokers?
c What percentage of females aged 35 to 44 are smokers?
d If 1 705 000 females were surveyed in the 25–34 age group, how many were smokers?
e In which age group were 11% of men smokers?
f What generally happens to the percentage of smokers as age increases?

5 This clustered bar chart shows the different ways people shop for sports/outdoor
equipment, groceries and home entertainment.

Preferred Methods of Purchasing Goods

80
Sport/Outdoor Equipment
70
Groceries
60
Books/Music/Movies/Video Games
Percentage (%)

50

40

30

20

10

0
Wearable Mobile Tablet Computer TV Catalogue/ In-store Do not
technology* phone device shopping magazine buy
* e.g. watch, glasses

8 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 a Name the two most popular methods of purchasing goods.
b What is the most popular method for purchasing:
i groceries?
ii sports/outdoor equipment?
iii home entertainment?
c What percentage of people:
i do not buy sports/outdoor equipment at all?
ii buy home entertainment items using their tablets?
iii buy groceries using their computers?

6 The graphs below illustrate healthy weight ranges, according to gender, age and body
mass index (BMI). Your BMI is calculated by dividing your weight (in kilograms) by your
height (in metres) squared.

Your healthy weight range

Girls Boys
30 30
ht
28 Overweight weig 28 Overweight t
Body mass index (kg/m2)

Body mass index (kg/m2)

over igh
26 m i n g 26 v e rwe
Beco o
ing
24 24 om
Bec
22 22
Healthy Healthy
20 20
18 18
16 16
14 Underweight 14 Underweight

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Age Age

a Is a 16-year-old girl with a BMI of 20 considered healthy?

b Describe the health of a 13-year-old boy with a BMI of 14.
c What is the minimum BMI for a healthy 17-year-old boy?
d Jake is aged 15, weighs 78 kg and is 173 cm tall. Calculate his BMI and state what
advice you would give him about his health.
e Write the lowest and highest BMI for a healthy 14-year-old girl.
f Calculate your BMI and use the graph to find your state of health.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 9

 7 This graph from the Bureau of Meteorology shows the monthly rainfall and number of
raindays for Broken Hill.

Monthly rainfall data: Broken Hill

25 30

25
20

Number of raindays
20
Rainfall (mm)

15
15
10
10

5
5

0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average monthly rainfall Number of raindays
© Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2017, Bureau of Meteorology.
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU).

a What is the size of one unit on the ‘Rainfall’ axis?

b What is graphed on the line graph?
c What was the amount of rainfall and the number of raindays in May?
d Which month had the highest rainfall? How many millimetres fell in that
month?
e Which month had the most raindays? How many days of rain did it have?
f What was the driest month?
g How many days in summer had rain?

8 A group of people was surveyed about their favourite Holiday destination

Australian state or territory to visit. The results are NT
shown on the sector graph. 3%
Vic
10%
If 2475 tourists chose Western Australia, which of SA
7% Qld
the following is the total number of people who
32%
participated in the survey? Select A, B, C or D. WA
9%
A 27 500 B 8800
NSW Tas
C 5775 D 25 025 21% 18%

10 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 9 a What do these graphs illustrate?

NCM Bank Optel

25.30 4.70
25.20 4.60
Share price ($)

Share price ($)

25.10 4.50
25.00 4.40
24.90 4.30
24.80 4.20
F M T W T F F M T W T F
Day Day

b What is the size of one unit on the vertical axis of the NCM Bank graph?
c What was the Optel share price on Monday?
d On which day was the NCM Bank share price $25.10?
e Describe what happened to the Optel share price over the week.
f What would have been the worst day to sell NCM Bank shares? Why?
g Which company’s shares showed more changes in price over the week?

10 These line graphs show the pollution index in three Sydney regions over a week.

Pollution index
Regional pollution index

25
South-west
20 North-west
East
15
10
5
0
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

a What was the south-west’s pollution index on Wednesday?

b Which region had the highest index for the week? What was this reading and
on which day did it occur?
c Which day showed the lowest index for all three regions? Why do you think
it did?
d Which day showed the greatest difference in readings between the south-west
and north-west? What was this difference?
e On which day were the readings about the same for all three regions? Why do
you think it was?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 11

 1.02  Misleading graphs
Statistical graphs are sometimes used to misrepresent information, and to falsely support a
particular opinion or claim. For example, an advertisement may use a misleading graph to
promote a product, or a company may use one to exaggerate its achievements and profits.

EXAMPLE 3

Three misleading graphs are shown below, used by the marketing manager of a computer
store to highlight the increase in the sales of notebook computers over five weeks.

Graph A Graph B Graph C

Number of computers sold

Number of computers sold

Number of computers sold

40 35 40
35
32
30 30
25 30
20
20 20
15 10
16
10
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Week
Week Week

The sales figures are shown in this table:

Week 1 2 3 4 5

Computers sold 16 21 27 30 35

a Explain what is incorrect and misleading about each graph.

b Draw the correct graph to represent the sales data.

Solution

a In Graph A, the vertical axis begins at 10 instead of 0, so the section of the graph
between 10 and 40 has been exaggerated or ‘stretched up’ to give the impression
that sales have increased greatly.
In Graph B, the scale on the vertical axis is not even, which gives the false
impression that the increases in sales are greater than they actually are.
In Graph C, the horizontal axis has been compressed or ‘shrunk’ to make it look like
the sales have increased quicker.

12 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 b The correct graph has an even scale on both axes with the vertical axis beginning at
zero. It correctly shows the sales pattern.

Sales of computers

Number of computers sold

40

30

20

10

0 1 2 3 4 5
Week

Misleading graphs
A misleading graph can give a wrong impression by:
• not having a scale
• having an uneven scale or showing only part of the scale
• not showing the correct position of zero on the scale.

Exercise 1.02 Misleading graphs

1 Spin Industries used this graph to Spin Industries share price Example
2.30
make the following claim to 3
shareholders: ‘The company’s share 2.20
price has risen dramatically in the
last 10 years’. 2.10
a How does the graph mislead
the shareholders? 2.00
Price ($)

b Redraw the graph correctly. 1.90

1.80

1.70

1.60

1.50
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Year

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 13

 2 Using pictures in graphs can be misleading Growth in wheat crops
if they are badly scaled to exaggerate
differences. This graph should show that the
wheat crop has doubled in two years, but the
2018 wheat picture is double the length and
double the width of the 2016 wheat picture.
a How is the graph misleading?
b Redraw the graph for 2018 correctly.

2016

2018

3 This sales graph was presented to a meeting of Sales

shareholders by the ex-director of a company.
a What does the graph describe?

Sales
b What message is the ex-director trying to convey
New company
to the shareholders? director appointed
c What information is missing from the graph?
Months

4 This graph depicts the average weekly

wage now compared to that of 5 years ago.
a How is the graph misleading to the 5 years ago
reader?
b Redraw the graph correctly. Now

5 This bar chart appeared in a news article with the Votes to increase childcare funding
headline ‘Labor votes overwhelmingly to increase 63
childcare funding.’ 62
a How are Labor’s votes exaggerated on this 61
graph? 60
Number of votes

59
b Redraw the graph correctly.
58
c Do you agree with the headline? Justify your 57
answer. 56
55
54
53
Labor Liberal Greens
Political party

14 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 6 Oil prices have increased so much that $100
buys only half as much oil as it did 10 years ago.
A newspaper article used the following graph to
illustrate this.
a How is this graph misleading?
b Redraw the graph so that it represents the
situation accurately.

$100 of oil 10 years ago $100 of oil today

7 Joe drew this bar chart on the How Joe spends his day
right to illustrate how he spends 7
a typical weekday.
6
a How many hours does Joe
spend sleeping? 5
Hours

b Explain what is wrong with 4

this graph.
3
c What misleading impression
does this graph give? 2
d Redraw this graph to show 1
accurately how Joe spends a School Eating Watching Sport Sleeping Homework
typical weekday. TV

1.03 Types of data WS

There are two main types of statistical data:
Statistical
Homework data
match-up
• categorical data are represented by categories, usually in words or symbols
• numerical data are represented by quantities or numbers.

EXAMPLE 4

Classify each type of data as categorical or numerical.

a number of tries scored by a football team
b    colour of hair c         month of birth d   amount of petrol in cars.

Solution

a numerical For example, 0 or 3

b categorical For example, blonde or brown
c categorical For example, May or September
d numerical For example, 32.5 L or 40 L

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 15

 Categorical data can be further divided into nominal and ordinal data, while numerical
data can be further divided into discrete and continuous data.

Nominal data
(cannot be ordered)
Categorical data
(words or symbols)
Ordinal data
(can be ordered)
Data
Discrete data
(counted: separate values, gaps)
Numerical data
(numbers)
Continuous data
(measured: smooth scale, no gaps)

Colour of hair is an example of nominal data because the categories cannot be ordered, for
example, blonde does not come before or after brown.
Month of birth is an example of ordinal data because the categories can be ordered, for
example, May comes before September.
Number of tries scored is an example of discrete data because they are numbers that are
obtained by counting. Discrete values are separate numbers (in this case, whole numbers) with
1
‘gaps’ between the possible values. You cannot have 2 2 tries or 1.8 tries scored.
Amount of petrol is an example of continuous data because they are numbers that are
obtained by measuring. Continuous values lie on a smooth scale with no ‘gaps’ between the
possible values. You can have 43.1 L, 43.15 L or 43.02 L of petrol.

EXAMPLE 5

Classify each type of categorical data as nominal or ordinal.

a    method of travel to work b    report grade
c       suburb of home d    fan setting of air conditioner

Solution

a nominal
b ordinal For example, outstanding, satisfactory
c nominal
d ordinal For example, low, medium

16 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 EXAMPLE 6

Classify each type of numerical data as discrete or continuous.

a    amount of electricity used in homes b    numbers of DVDs owned
c       shoe size d    weekly profits of a business

Solution

a continuous Smooth scale of values

b discrete Separate values (for example, 32 and 58)
1
c discrete Separate values (for example, 7 and 8 )
2
d continuous Smooth scale of values

Exercise 1.03 Types of data

1 Classify each type of data as categorical (C) or numerical (N). Example

a types of religion b numbers of computers in homes 4

c types of driver’s licences held d populations of a city
e numbers of apps bought online f marital status
g method of payment for shopping h movie classification
i patients’ blood pressure j swimmers’ finishing place in a race
k amount of time spent on the Internet per week
l town or suburb where people live

2 What is the difference between categorical data and numerical data? Give an example of
each type.

3 Classify each type of categorical data as nominal (N) or ordinal (O). Example

a brand of car 5
b level of manager
c level of satisfaction with the government
d marital status
e favourite football team
f colour of Olympic medal
g size of soft drink sold at a fast food store
h a person’s gender

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 17

Example
4 Classify each type of numerical data as discrete (D) or continuous (C).
6 a amount of rainfall each day b mass of an athlete
c length of a mobile phone call d running time for a 100 m race
e star rating of a hotel f height of the world’s tallest building
g number of seats on a bus h loudness of a lawn mower

5 Give one example of:

a nominal data b ordinal data
c discrete data d continuous data.

6 Give the correct name for:

a data that are usually described by numbers
b data that are usually described by words
c data that are usually measured on a smooth scale
d categorical data that cannot be sorted in order.

7 Which statement about categorical data is true? Select A, B, C or D.

A They are sometimes represented by numbers that indicate size or an amount.
B They are sometimes represented by symbols.
C They are represented by numbers that take on separate values.
D They are represented on a smooth scale.

1.04 Sampling techniques

Sampling versus census
In statistics, a population means all of the items In Australia, a national census takes place
being studied, whether they are people, fish, cars every 5 years, in a year ending with a 1 or
or buildings. A census is a survey of a population a 6, such as 2016 or 2021.
in which every item is included.
If the whole population is too large or too difficult to survey, a sample of items is selected
from the population. The results are then used to draw conclusions about the whole
population. For example, a market researcher investigating the TV viewing habits of
Australians will survey a representative sample of Australians.

Sampling Taking a census

Surveys a representative group of items from Surveys all items in a population

a population

Provides an estimate or approximate Provides exact information about the population

­information about the population

Simple and not expensive Complex and expensive

18 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 EXAMPLE 7

Determine whether sampling or taking a census is more appropriate for each study below.
a finding the most popular radio station in Newcastle
b conducting a survey on whether Australians want a new national flag
c finding the exact number of young women living on the South Coast, with the view
to building a new maternity hospital
d selecting the politicians to form a new state government

Solution

a sampling It would be impractical to survey everyone in the population.

b sampling It would be impractical to survey everyone in the population.
c census An exact number is required.
d census This decision is important and requires everyone eligible to vote.

Types of samples
If a sample is to be truly representative of a population, then each item in the population must
have an equal chance of being chosen. Also, the sample size is important. The larger the sample,
the more accurate the results of the study will be. There are four types of sample, described below.
In a random sample, each item is chosen completely at random from the population (for
example, selecting names out of a box, or setting a computer to create random numbers to
choose people or items).
In a systematic sample, the first item is chosen at random and all other items are chosen at
regular intervals. For example, every 20th mobile phone is taken from a factory for testing, or
the driver of every 8th car on the road is selected for random breath testing. ‘Systematic’ means
a ‘system’ is used to select items.
In a stratified sample, the population is divided into
strata (layers) according to some characteristic (for
example, gender or age group) and a random sample is
taken from each layer using representative proportions
or percentages. For example, if 28% of all shoppers in
[Link]/Dwight Smith

Australia are male, then a stratified sample of shoppers

must be 28% male. ‘Stratified’ means ‘in layers,’ like
stratified rock (as shown in the photo).
In a self-selected sample, people choose to participate
in a survey, so the sample is not randomly chosen nor
necessarily representative of the population.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 19

 For example, people who phone in to vote in a poll about changing the national anthem could
form an unrepresentative or biased sample if only people with strong opinions either way
participated. People may be biased towards a particular view being promoted by a newspaper,
radio station, news channel or social media website.

EXAMPLE 8

Which type of sample would you use to investigate each issue?

a the opinion of Year 11 students on a new senior school uniform
b the quality of Buzz rechargeable batteries
c the amount of time spent on the Internet by Australian primary schoolchildren
d the support for a new government tax from the listeners of a radio talkback show
e the popularity of the prime minister of Australia

Solution

a A random sample will provide a fair representation of Year 11.

b A systematic sample will ensure that batteries produced at different times will be
tested.
c A stratified sample will ensure that children of all types and areas are included.
d A self-selected sample is required as listeners have to call in to express their views.
e A stratified sample will ensure that people of all types and areas are included.

EXAMPLE 9

At Newcent High School, there are 126 senior students and 572 junior students. The
student council wants to survey 80 students about the school’s environmental program.
How many senior students should be selected for a stratified sample?

Solution

Total number of students = 126 + 572 = 698

Number of senior students = 126
Sample of students = 80
126
Number of senior students in sample is × 80 = 14.44… ≈ 14
698
14 senior students should be selected for the sample.

20 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

Bias in sampling
Bias is an unwanted influence that favours a particular section of the population unfairly. A
biased sample is not truly representative of the population and negatively affects the quality
or reliability of a statistical study.

EXAMPLE 10

Explain the bias in each sample.

a A group of Year 12 students sitting together in the playground was surveyed on their
preferences for a school formal venue.
b A random selection of homes was contacted by telephone at midday for a survey on
political opinions.
c A current affairs TV program asked viewers to participate in an SMS (mobile phone)
poll on gun laws.

Solution

a The group members are likely to be friends with similar opinions, so this sample may
not be representative of all Year 12 students.
b This is biased against people who are not at home during the day.
c The sample would contain only (self-selected) viewers of the program who have a
strong opinion about the subject or who make the effort to vote.

Exercise 1.04 Sampling techniques

1 Determine whether sampling or taking a census is more appropriate for each Example

study below. 7
a counting the number of students learning Japanese at a school
b finding the number of people who watch soccer on SBS TV
c judging the most popular supermarket in town
d finding the number of Australians who were born in Europe
e investigating people’s opinions on whether Australia should become a republic
f determining the number of people in NSW who have red hair
g finding the exact number of schoolchildren living in Parramatta
h testing whether a brand of mobile phone battery lasts 50 hours

2 When will the next Australian national census be held?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 21

Example 3 Select an appropriate type of sample (random, systematic, stratified or self-selected) for
8 each study below. Give a reason for each answer.
a testing running shoes for quality
b finding the most watched television network on Tuesday nights
c voting for the best contestant on a TV talent show
d testing the reading abilities of a school’s students
e testing a new drug on patients
f investigating people’s views on renewable energy
g investigating how many Year 11 students at your school work part-time
h surveying bank customers about their satisfaction levels
i determining the most popular car colour
j a Facebook poll on where a social group should hold their next party

Example 4 A department store has a customer database of 3347 female shoppers and 1504 male
9 shoppers. It wants to introduce a new credit card to a stratified sample of 200 shoppers.
How many female shoppers should be included in the sample?

5 A public transport department surveys a sample of 600 commuters about the efficiency
of the city’s rail network. It is known that each region of the city has the following
number of commuters:

North South East West Southwest

123 760 149 810 81 060 260 450 215 880

If the sample is to be stratified, how many commuters from the West should
be included?

6 A school’s gardening program is run by 25 students, 5 teachers and 8 parents. A stratified

sample of 8 people is selected to attend an environmental conference. Which of the
following is the number of teachers who should be in the sample? Select A, B, C or D.
A 0 B 1 C 2 D 5

Example 7 Explain why each sample is biased.

10 a A sample of Girlfriend magazine readers was surveyed to investigate teenagers’
views on road safety.
b Diners at a restaurant can give feedback about their meal by filling in a survey and
posting it to the restaurant.
c For a survey about canteen food, the school council interviewed the first
20 students to arrive at school this morning.

22 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 d At a factory, a sample of executives was surveyed about safety in the workplace.
e A sample of audience members at a film premiere was surveyed about their views on
the film.
f Triple J radio listeners were asked to vote for the best song of the year.
g After a plane flight, passengers were emailed a customer experience survey to
complete.

8 By referring to Question 7, determine which samples are self-selected.

9 A sample of shoppers is to be chosen for a survey about customer service at a new

shopping centre.
a How would you choose the shoppers to ensure that you have an unbiased sample?
b List two ways of choosing shoppers that would result in a biased sample.

DID YOU KNOW?

How TV ratings are measured

Each week, research company OzTAM Television network Percentage share
investigates the TV viewing habits of
Australians, based on a sample of over Seven 15.0%
5000 homes. OzTAM, which stands Nine 15.0%
for Australian Television Audience
Ten 8.8%
Measurement, investigates which
TV channels and programs are being ABC 8.4%
watched by a sample of Australian ABC2 4.7%
households stratified according to the
ages and number of people living in SBS 3.1%
each home. Participants in the survey 7TWO 2.3%
have their television sets linked to a
7mate 2.3%
black box called a ‘peoplemeter’ that
records the details of all programs ONE 2.3%
being watched each day (including pay GO! 2.2%
television). The results are sent
overnight by modem to OzTAM. Eleven 2.1%
Source: OzTAM
During one week in August 2017, the
Australian television networks had the following percentage shares of viewers in Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, from 6.00 a.m. to 12.00 midnight.
What types of people would be interested in the television viewing habits of
Australians and why?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 23

 INVESTIGATION

ESTIMATING POPULATIONS
How many students at your school:
a have red hair? b have brown eyes? c are left-handed?
d are vegetarian? e walk to school? f have a dog as a pet?
A survey is often conducted using a questionnaire, which asks for details about a person’s
lifestyle, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. The table below describes the features of a
good questionnaire, giving examples.
Estimate the answers to these questions by surveying a sample of 50 students from your
school and making appropriate calculations. How could you improve on your estimates?

INVESTIGATION

WS
DESIGNING A QUESTIONNAIRE
A survey is often conducted using a questionnaire, which asks for details about a person’s
Student survey form
Homework
lifestyle, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. The table below describes the features of a
good questionnaire, giving examples.

WS
Feature Bad example Good example

1 Simple language ‘Describe the frequency with ‘How many times

Census questions
Homework
All instructions and questions which you consume takeaway per week do you eat
should be easily understood. food on a weekly basis’. takeaway food?’

2 Unambiguous questions ‘What type of car do you own?’ ‘What make of car do
Questions must not have Does the question mean: you own? Tick one box
more than one meaning or from the following list:
• the make of car (for example,
interpretation. …’ (This is followed by
Toyota)?
a list of different makes
• the style of car (for example, of cars.)
hatchback)?
• the size of car (for example,
small)?

3 Respect for privacy ‘What is your email address?’ ‘In case we need to
A survey should be People are concerned about contact you further
anonymous and not require receiving junk email if they regarding this survey,
personal details. Questions give out their email address. please supply your email
that are too personal should address. This is optional
be optional. and your details will
not be forwarded to
other parties or used for
promotional purposes.’

24 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 4 Freedom from bias ‘What do you think of ‘Do you think the
Questions should not suggest changing the Australian flag, current Australian flag
or influence a person’s given that it is part of our should be changed?’
response. history and our soldiers have
died for it in the past?’
Too emotional, not objective,
influencing people to vote
against a new flag.

5 Consideration of a ‘How well did you enjoy your ‘How satisfied were
number of choices meal?’ (from a restaurant you with your meal?
A question may have many survey). Choose from one of the
different answers, so either Too open ended. There would following:
make the question very be a wide range of possible Very satisfied �
specific or provide a list answers that would be difficult Satisfied �
of answers from which to to organise and analyse.
choose. Not satisfied �
Very unsatisfied �
No opinion �

1 Explain what is wrong with each survey question and write a better question
each time.
a Are politicians paid too much?
b What is your favourite food?
c How often do you smoke?
d Which mode of transport do you employ to commute to your place of work?
e Are you happy at school?
f How satisfied are you with the level of customer service at the New Century
Bank?
2 a In groups of 2 to 4 students, design a questionnaire of 10 to 12 questions about
one of the following topics:
• TV viewing habits of people
• spending habits of teenagers
• students’ use of smartphones and/or tablets
• family and household details
• favourite sports to watch and play.
b Decide on the type of facts you wish to collect, then determine suitable wording
for each question and the format of each answer. Make sure that your questions
reflect the features of an effective questionnaire.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 25

 WS
1.05 Constructing graphs
Australian
Homeworkstatistics When displaying a set of data, remember to:
• select the most appropriate graph or display
• catch the reader’s attention
Statistical
graphs • show enough detail, including a title, labels, key or scale
• avoid giving a misleading impression.

Useful for: Strengths Weaknesses

Bar chart • Categorical or • Shows exact values • Takes a long time to

numerical data • Can graph a large draw
• Showing differences in amount of data
amounts

Line • Continuous numerical • Shows exact values • Can only be used to

graph data • Can graph a large graph continuous data
• Showing changes over amount of data
a time period • Shows differences and
patterns clearly
• Can be used to estimate
values between points

Sector • Categorical data • Shows parts of a whole • Doesn’t show exact

graph and • Comparing parts of a values
divided whole • Doesn’t show small
bar graph proportions or a large
number of categories
well

EXAMPLE 11

The 2016 Census results for the religions of Religion Frequency

Australian people are shown in the table.
Buddhist 563 674
Represent this data on:
Christian 12 201 600
a a sector graph
Hindu 440 300
b a divided bar graph.
Islamic 604 240

Jewish 91 022

Other religion 2 567 348

No religion 6 933 708

Total 23 401 892

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2016 Census

26 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 Solution

a
First calculate the angle of each sector, rounded to the nearest degree.
563 674 Write each religion as a fraction and
Buddhist: × 360° ≈ 9°
23 401 892 multiply by 360°.

12 201 600
Christian: × 360° ≈ 188°
23 401 892
440 300
Hindu: × 360° ≈ 7°
23 401 892
604 240 Note: Due to rounding, the sector
Islamic: × 360° ≈ 9°
23 401 892 angles may not add exactly to 360°.

91 022
Jewish: × 360° ≈ 1°
23 401 892
2 567 348
Other religion: × 360° ≈ 39°
23 401 892
6 933 708
No religion: × 360° ≈ 107°
23 401 892
Religions in Australia
Buddhist
Buddhist Instead of labelling the
Christian sectors, you could provide a ‘key’
Hindu like this.
Islamic
No religion
Other
Jewish
Christian No religion
Other

Remember to add a title and to label each sector.

Hindu
Islamic Jewish

b Draw a long rectangle (for example, 12 cm long), then calculate the length of the
section representing each religion, rounded to the nearest millimetre.
563 674 Write each religion as a fraction
Buddhist: × 12 cm ≈ 0.3 cm
23 401 892 and multiply by 12 cm.

12 201 600
Christian: × 12 cm ≈ 6.3 cm
23 401 892
440 300
Hindu: × 12 cm ≈ 0.2 cm
23 401 892
604 240
Islamic: × 12 cm ≈ 0.3 cm
23 401 892
91 022 ‘Jewish’ will be too small to show as a
Jewish: × 12 cm ≈ 0.05 cm
23 401 892 section.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 27

 2 567 348 Note: Due to rounding, the sections
Other religion: × 12 cm ≈ 1.3 cm
23 401 892 may not add exactly to 12 cm.
6 933 708
No religion: × 12 cm ≈ 3.6 cm
23 401 892

Remember to add a title and to label each section.

Instead of labelling the sections, you could provide a ‘key’.

Religions in Australia

Christian Other No religion

Buddhist Hindu Jewish

Islamic

Pareto charts
A Pareto chart contains a bar chart and a line graph combined. Individual values are
represented in descending order with bars. The cumulative total (or cumulative frequency)
of the data is represented by the line. For example, the Pareto chart below explains the
decrease in profits at a shoe store after surveying customers.

Shoe store customer complaints

120 100%
90%

Cumulative percentage frequency

100
80%
70%
80
60%
Frequency

60 50%
40%
40
30%
20%
20
10%
0 0%
ult

le

es

es

ate
vic

tiv
lab

sho

sho
fic

qu
eti
ser

vai
dif

de
ty

of
mp
or

sa

ina
ali
ng

ip
co
Po

ize

qu

nsh
rki

ys
ot
es

or

pla
Pa

ma
sn
ho

Po

dis
ork
ice
ds

re
Pr

W
ite

Sto
Lim

28 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

Originally, the manager assumed that the decrease in sales was because this season’s shoes
were not very appealing to customers, and she blamed the shoe supplier for this problem.
After the customer survey results were displayed on a Pareto chart, the manager recognised
the real reasons for her poor profits. The customer car park, sales staff attitudes and limited
shoe sizes were the main issues.
Pareto charts are often used in quality control for businesses. The taller columns are drawn
on the left and highlight the key problems or issues.

Exercise 1.05 Constructing graphs

1 A group of 40 students was surveyed about the number of DVDs they each watched last
weekend. The results were:
2 1 1 2 3 3 4 3 1 4
3 3 6 3 2 0 3 4 2 2
3 3 2 1 1 3 0 5 4 4
2 2 2 5 4 0 4 3 1 3
a Organise the data in a frequency table, then present it as a bar chart.
b Why is a line graph not appropriate for this data?
c What was the mode (the most common number of DVDs watched)?
d What was the highest number of DVDs watched and how many students watched
that many?
e What percentage of students watched more than four DVDs?

2 Georgie won $800 000 on a quiz show and spent it as shown in the table. Example

Use of money Amount

11
Pay home loan $235 000
New car $ 96 000
Home renovations $144 000
Travel $125 000
Savings $200 000

a Why is a sector graph or divided bar graph suitable for this information?
b Draw a sector graph for this information.
c What did Georgie do with one-quarter of her winnings?
d What fraction of Georgie’s winnings was spent on home renovations?
e What percentage of Georgie’s winnings was spent on a new car?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 29

 3 A sample of Sydney households was surveyed about which TV network they watched for
the evening news. The results are shown in the table.
Network Number of households

ABC 3460

SBS 855

Seven 4140

Nine 4215

Ten 2300

a How many households were surveyed?

b Name the three types of graphs that could be used to display this data.
c Represent the data on a divided bar graph.
d What percentage of households watch the ABC news?
e Do the viewers of the Seven News and Nine News combined make up more than
half of the households surveyed?
f Does this data reflect the news-watching habits of all Australian households? Justify
your answer.

4 The teachers at Summer Heights High School were surveyed on the number of cups of
coffee they drank yesterday.
Cups of coffee 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Frequency 7 5 11 21 15 9 4
a How many teachers are there at the school?
b What type of graph can be used to illustrate this data? Give a reason for your
answer.
c What percentage of the teachers did not drink coffee that day? Answer correct to
one decimal place.
d If the recommended healthy coffee intake is no more than three cups of coffee per
day, what fraction of teachers had a healthy intake of coffee?

5 Serena wants to graph the results of a survey about people’s favourite ice cream flavour.
Which of the following graphs can she use? Select A, B, C or D.
A bar chart
B sector graph
C divided bar graph
D all of the above

30 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 6 This Pareto chart shows complaints about the delivery of pizzas from a new chain of
pizza stores.

Pizza Delivery Complaints

1200 100%
90%

Cumulative percentage frequency

1000
80%
70%
800
60%
Frequency

600 50%
40%
400
30%
20%
200
10%
0 0%
ed

e
t

y
a

led
ho

es

erl
pin

ere
izz
lay

he
bil

rop
t

dp

liv
top
no
de

hc
ly

de
ge

dp
za
ery

ect
ate

ug
ma

ize
Piz

ake
no
orr
liv

qu

Da

gs
te
De

tb
de

Inc

ron
No
Ina

No
W

Use the graph to answer these questions:

a What are the two most common complaints?
b How many customers complained about late delivery of pizzas?
c What percentage of customers complained about late delivery of pizzas?
d ‘Customers are more likely to complain that they have been incorrectly billed for
their order than they are likely to complain that their pizza has not been baked
properly’. True or false?
e Where should the owners of this business direct their efforts to improve their
delivery service? Name at least two ways they could improve.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 31

 7 The Pareto chart below shows complaints about apartments that are rented out to
holiday-makers.
Complaints about Holiday Apartment Rentals
400 100%

350 90%

Cumulative percentage frequency

80%
300
70%
250 60%
Frequency

200 50%

150 40%
30%
100
20%
50 10%
0 0%
Insects

Too warm/cold

Insufficient storage space

Loud music after 11 PM

Poor TV/Internet connection

Insufficient hot water

Towels too small/thin

Inadequate lighting

Furniture worn-out

a What is the most common complaint?

b There are two areas that received the same number of complaints. What are they?
c How many holiday-makers complained about loud music after 11 p.m.?
d What percentage of holiday-makers complained about loud music after 11 p.m?
e Are these statements true or false?
i Most holiday renters are satisfied with the quality of TV/Internet connection.
ii Worn-out furniture is a major concern of holiday renters.
iii Holiday renters are more concerned about the heating/cooling of the
apartments than they are about inadequate lighting and insufficient hot water
combined.
f Name two significant ways that the owners of the apartments could improve the
apartments.

32 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 8 The table lists the concerns of customers who purchase flat pack furniture from the
WS
specialist furniture store ‘I-AKE’. Flat pack furniture requires the customer to assemble
each item themselves. Pareto chart
Homework
template

Flat pack furniture defects Number of complaints

Damaged parts 90

Dirty 55

Missing instructions 45

Missing parts 15

Unpainted 10

Poor quality 5

a Download the ‘Pareto chart template’ worksheet from NelsonNet to draw a Pareto
chart for the data shown.
b What are the two most common complaints?
c Name two ways I-AKE could improve the quality of their furniture.

9 In a two-week period, Australian Customs recorded the number of immigrants arriving

at Sydney airport, as shown in the table.

Country of origin Number of immigrants

United Kingdom 20

New Zealand 35

Middle East 7

India 10

Africa 3

Asia 12

Other regions 6

a Draw a divided bar graph to represent this data.

b ‘More than half of the immigrants came from the UK or New Zealand.’ True or
false?
c What fraction of immigrants came from Asia?
d What percentage (to the nearest whole number) of immigrants came from the
Middle East?
e Which region represents 10.75% of the immigrants?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 33

 10 This table shows the numbers of motor vehicle and home thefts in the Shoalhaven area
over 5 years.
Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Motor vehicle theft 571 702 562 484 483
Home theft 589 880 600 704 707

a Draw line graphs showing both types of theft on the same axes. Include labels or a
key.
b In which year was home theft highest?
c In which year was motor vehicle theft lowest?
d Which type of theft is generally more common?
e Write a sentence to describe what happened to the number of home thefts over the
5 years.
f What do you think happened to motor vehicle theft in 2016? Justify your answer.

DID YOU KNOW?

Bias in drafting US soldiers

Bias can affect life-or-death situations, as some young Americans found out during the
Vietnam War. In 1970, men aged 19 to 26 were randomly drafted into the armed forces
according to their birthdates (this also occurred in Australia). The 366 dates of the year
were written on plastic capsules and put into a large bowl. Capsules were then picked
out and the men who had the selected birthdates were drafted. However, it was later
discovered that birthdates in November and December had a slightly higher chance
of being drawn because the capsules were placed in the bowl in order and not mixed
properly, and the ones chosen were often from the top of the pile.
Suggest two ways the bias could have been eliminated during this
selection process.

34 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 TECHNOLOGY
Drawing sector graphs
We can use Insert and Chart in a spreadsheet to draw different types of graphs.
A sample of 800 commuters was surveyed about the way they travelled
to work.
Step 1:  Enter the data from the survey into a spreadsheet as shown.
Step 2:  Select (highlight) all the cells A1:B5 and click
Insert and Pie or Doughnut Chart.

Step 3: Click Quick Layout from the Design menu

and choose Layout 6 which shows a Legend and Chart Title.
Percentages and sector names are also now shown on the
sector graph.
Step 4:  Click on ‘Chart Title’ and replace with the title given below.

Method of Travelling to Work

Cycle
8%
Bus
9% Train
Train Car
36% Walk
Walk
18% Bus
Cycle

Car
29%

Step 5: Format any features of your graph, including colour and design, by clicking on
it and using Format or Design from the Toolbar. You may also resize the graph.
Further investigations
• Repeat the steps above for other data, creating different sector graphs and
layout options.
• Graph the same data as a bar chart by clicking Design and Change Chart Type.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 35

 TECHNOLOGY
Drawing Pareto charts
A spreadsheet can be used to easily draw a A B
Pareto chart. 1 Wait time 56
Step 1:  I n a spreadsheet, enter the data 2 No atmosphere 34
showing customer complaints at a 3 Unfriendly staff 21
restaurant as shown. 4 Small portion sizes 105
5 Too noisy 12
Step 2:  Highlight the data from cell
A1:B8. Click Insert and Chart in a 6 Not clean 18

spreadsheet. Then choose All Charts 7 Food not fresh 12

then Histogram and Pareto Chart. 8 Overpriced 148

Note: The data does not need to be reordered

from largest complaints to smallest, as the
spreadsheet will account for this
automatically when the graph is created.
Step 3: If necessary, resize the chart so all labels
can be read and then click Chart Title
and give the Pareto chart an appropriate
title for this data.
Step 4: Write a brief report advising the
restaurant of the main areas of complaint and make some suggestions as to
how they might improve their customer service and/or restaurant.

36 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

1.06 Frequency histograms and polygons WS
A frequency histogram or frequency polygon graphs numerical data, including data
Frequency tables
Homework
grouped into class intervals.

Class intervals and centres

• In statistics, when there are many data scores, they may be grouped into class
intervals. For example, ages of people may be grouped into class intervals of 1–10,
11–20, 21–30 and so on.
• A class centre is the centre of a class interval. For example, the class centre of the
class interval 10–19 is 14.5.

Number of phones Number of phones

owned per household owned per household

8 8
Frequency

Frequency

6 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Number of phones Number of phones

Frequency histogram Frequency polygon

• no gaps between columns • can be drawn by joining the midpoints of
the tops of the columns of a histogram
• has a half-column gap at the start.
• starts and ends on the horizontal axis.

Useful for Strengths Weaknesses

Frequency • numerical • easy to read • takes a long time to
histogram and (quantitative) data • shows differences and draw
polygon • data grouped into class patterns clearly
intervals • can graph a large
• showing the shape of amount of data
a set of data; how the • shows how the scores
scores are spread out are spread out

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 37

 EXAMPLE 12

The ages of the patients at a medical centre in one afternoon were recorded:
37 12 19 65 44 30 1 8 14 36 25 57 21 16
4 30 40 49 38 69 33 55 16 4 8 16 6 28
29 54 43 48 33 18 9 59 21 70 22 33 2 60

a Copy and complete this frequency distribution table for the data.

Class interval Class centre Tally Frequency

0–9
10–19
20–29
30–39
40–49
50–59
60-69
70–79
Total

b Construct a frequency histogram for this data.

c How many patients went to the medical centre?
d How many of these patients were aged 50 or over?

Solution
These are discrete class intervals.
a

Class interval Class centre Tally Frequency

0–9 4.5 8

10–19 14.5 7
20–29 24.5 6
30–39 34.5 8
40–49 44.5 5
50–59 54.5 4
60-69 64.5 3
70–79 74.5 1
Total 42

38 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 b When graphing data that are grouped into discrete class intervals, either the class
intervals or class centres are shown on the horizontal axis.
Ages of patients at a medical centre
10

6
Frequency

0–9 10–19 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 60–69 70–79

Age
class interval

OR:

Ages of patients at a medical centre

10

6
Frequency

4.5 14.5 24.5 34.5 44.5 54.5 64.5 74.5

Age
class centre

c 42 patients went to the medical centre. Total frequency

d Number of patients aged 50 or over = 4 + 3 + 1 = 8

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 39

 EXAMPLE 13

The monthly call costs for a group of 120 mobile phone users were recorded and grouped
into class intervals as shown.

Call cost ($) Class centre Number of users

0–< 20 10 6

20–< 40 30 8

40–< 60 50 13

60–< 80 70 17

80–< 100 90 23

100–< 120 110 20

120–< 140 130 16

140–< 160 150 10

160–< 180 170 4

180–< 200 190 3

Total 120

These are continuous class intervals.

a Construct a frequency histogram and polygon for this data.

b Which call costs were the most common?
c Which call costs were used by exactly 10 people?
d What percentage of phone users had call costs below $60?

40 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 Solution

a When graphing data grouped into continuous class intervals, either the class
boundaries or class centres are shown on the horizontal axis, like this:
Monthly mobile phone costs

25

20
Frequency

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Cost ($)
class boundary

or like this:
5

0
10 30 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190
Cost ($)
class centre

b $80−< $100 Had the highest frequency (23)

c $140−< $160 Had a frequency of 10
d Number of users with call costs below $60 = 6 + 8 + 13 = 27
27
Percentage of users with call costs below $60 = × 100% = 22.5%
120

Exercise 1.06 Frequency histograms and polygons

1 Forty people were surveyed about the number of times they posted photos online in one
day. The results are shown below.
2  1  5  1  3  4  3  5  5  4
3  4  5  2  1  0  3  4  1  1
2  3  2  0  1  5  4  5  3  3
1  1  1  4  4  5  2  3  1  5
a Organise this data into a frequency distribution table.
b Construct a frequency histogram for the data.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 41

 2 The masses (in grams) of a sample of 48 eggs were measured and recorded.
57  58  61  59  62  59  59  56  60  64  58  58
56  59  64  57  60  62  58  60  64  57  61  58
59  57  64  58  59  57  58  64  60  58  60  57
61  64  58  60  61  62  62  58  60  61  57  58
a Construct a frequency distribution table for this data.
b Draw a frequency polygon for the data.
c If these eggs are labelled as being 60 grams, would you say that the label is
misleading? Give reasons for your answer.

Example 3 The table shows the number of road fatalities

Age group Road fatalities
12 according to age group on a section of the Pacific
Highway over 6 months. 0–9 6

a How many people died on this section of the 10–19 14

highway during the period? 20–29 28

b Draw a frequency histogram and polygon for 30–39 11

this data. 40–49 8
c What observations can you make about road 50–59 3
fatalities from the graphs?

4 The number of words in each sentence of a magazine article was counted, with the
results shown below.

27 22 15 8 14 7 9 25 15 17 5 24
9 11 22 8 5 15 25 18 10 21 24 13
9 14 18 11 9 23 15 19 10 8 14 17

a Is this data discrete or continuous?

b Using class intervals of 1–5, 6–10 etc., complete a frequency table for the data.
c Construct a frequency polygon for the data.
d What was the modal class (the class with the highest frequency)?

5 Here are the ages of the employees at Burger Heaven.

18 19 18 17 20 20 24 15 24 19
15 40 21 17 20 22 23 21 24 23
34 19 45 20 15 21 24 27 19 33
34 24 16 18 30 21 26 31 16 25
49 21 21 35 16 22 15 25 44 23

42 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 a Organise the data into a frequency table using classes 15–19, 20–24 etc.
b How many people work at Burger Heaven?
c Draw a frequency histogram and polygon for the data.
d Comment on the shape of the data.

6 A group of students was surveyed on Mobile phone calls

the number of mobile phone calls made
8
in a week. The results are shown in this 7
histogram. 6

Frequency
a How many students made 22 calls? 5
4
b How many students were surveyed?
3
c What percentage of students made 2
fewer than 20 calls? Answer correct 1
to one decimal place. 0
fewer 21 23 25 27 29 more
d Can you tell how many students than 20 than 30
Number of phone calls
made 32 calls? Why?

7 The number of kilograms lost by each person attending Julie’s Weight Loss Centre is Example

shown below. 13
1.8 2.5 4.3 6.5 2.7 4.6 11.0 10.8 0.3 8.2
2.1 3.8 4.4 5.8 1.6 5.9 7.6 9.3 4.8 3.4
12.5 4.6 2.5 6.9 7.5 3.5 4.8 12.2 4.3 3.7
0.0 0.9 2.6 7.8 4.9 7.4 9.8 10.4 2.6 8.2
a Is this data discrete or continuous?
b Complete a frequency table for this data using class intervals 0−< 2, 2−< 4 etc.
c Draw a frequency histogram for this data.
d What is the modal class?
e Use your histogram to comment on the effectiveness of the weight loss program.

8 The heights (in centimetres) of new applicants to a modelling agency are:

168 182 187 185 178 176 174 163 164

165 189 185 165 162 173 164 173 178
172 186 189 175 176 180 170 168 165

a Using class intervals of 160 −< 165, 165 −< 170 etc., complete a frequency table for
this data.
b Draw a frequency polygon for the data.
c What is the modal class interval?
d What is the lowest class interval?
e Which class interval is least common?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 43

 TECHNOLOGY
Drawing frequency histograms and polygons
We can use Insert and Chart in a spreadsheet to draw a frequency histogram
and polygon.
A B
1 Call cost ($) Number of users
2 10 6
3 30 8
4 50 13
5 70 17
6 90 23
7 110 20
8 130 16
9 150 10
10 170 4
11 190 3
12 210 0

 nter the data about the cost of mobile phone calls from Example 13 into a
Step 1:  E
spreadsheet but add a last row (210, 0) as shown.
This allows you to draw a frequency polygon which touches the x-axis.
Step 2:  S
 elect B2:B13 the values in the ‘Number of users’ column, as the ‘y-values’.
(Do not select B1 because we will add the titles later.)

Step 3:  Click Insert then click Insert Column or Bar Chart and Clustered
Column.
Step 4:  Right-click on the graph and click Select Data. Click Horizontal (Category)
Axis Labels then Edit and highlight A2:A13.

Step 5:  Click Add Chart Element and Axes Titles Primary Horizontal and
Primary Vertical and enter appropriate axes titles.
Step 6:  Right-click on the bar chart and choose Format Data Series. Change Gap
Width to 0%.
Step 7:  Click on Chart Title on the graph and enter an appropriate title for the data in
the frequency histogram.

44 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 Step 8:  To make a Polygon select B2:B13 the values in the ‘Number of users’ column,
as the ‘y-values’. (Do not select B1 because we will add the titles later.)

Step 9:  Click Insert then click Insert Line or Area Chart and click Line with
Markers.
Step 10:  Right-click on the graph and click Select Data. Click Horizontal (Category)
Axis Labels then Edit and highlight A2:A13.

Step 11:  Click Add Chart Element and Axes Titles Primary Horizontal and
Primary Vertical and enter appropriate axes titles. Then click Chart Title
and enter an appropriate title for the polygon.

1.07 Dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots

Stem Leaf
7 958169
8 425008032428
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9 08422008056
10 54
Dot plot Stem-and-leaf plot
• a simple type of bar chart • actual scores are listed, usually in order
• uses a dot, cross or symbol to display • the stem shows the first digit(s)
each score • the leaf shows the last digit(s)
• also called a line plot. • also called a stem plot.

Useful for: Strengths Weaknesses

Dot plot and • numerical • easy to read and • hard to display

stem-and-leaf plot (quantitative) data draw large sets of data
• small sets of data • shows differences
• showing gaps and and patterns clearly
clusters • shows the spread of
• showing outliers scores
(scores that are • stem-and-leaf plot
much different shows actual scores
from the rest)

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 45

 EXAMPLE 14

This dot plot shows the temperatures of a sample of hospital patients.

Patients’ temperatures

36 37 38 39 40 41 42 °C

a How many patients are in the sample?

b How many patients have a normal body temperature of 37°C?
c What is the mode (the most common score)?
d Where are the temperatures clustered?
e Find the outlier and describe the patient who has this temperature.

Solution

a 10 10 dots in total
b 2 patients There are two dots at 37°C
c 38°C The score with the most dots
d From 37°C to 39°C.
e The outlier temperature is 42°C and a patient with this temperature would be very
hot and ill.

EXAMPLE 15

This stem-and-leaf plot shows the exam marks of a class of students.

Stem Leaf
4 37
5 02248
6 1333669 The stem shows the tens digit, and the leaf
shows the units digit: 6 | 1 means 61.
7 578
8 46
9 2

a What is the highest mark?

b How many students are in the class?
c What is the most common mark?
d What percentage of students scored over 60?

46 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 Solution

a 92
b
20 The number of values in the ‘Leaf’ column
c
63 This score occurs the most, 3 times
d Number of students who scored over 60 = 13
13
Percentage of students who scored over 60 = × 100% = 65%
20

Display Useful for:

Bar chart • categorical or numerical data

• showing differences in amounts

Line graph • continuous numerical data

• showing changes over a time period
• estimating values between points

Pareto chart • categorical data

• showing differences in amounts
• sorting categories in order of frequency/importance

Sector graph and divided bar graph • categorical data

• comparing parts of a whole
• a small number of categories

Frequency histogram and polygon • numerical data

• data grouped into class intervals
• showing the shape of a set of data, how the scores are
spread out

Dot plot and stem-and-leaf plot • small sets of numerical data

• showing clusters, gaps and outliers
• showing the shape of a set of data, how the scores are
spread out

Exercise 1.07 Dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots Example

14
1 A class was surveyed to find out how many hours each student spent on maths
homework each week. The results are shown below.
7 6 8 9 5 10 6 9 9 0 9 8
18 7 5 3 4 9 6 7 8 10 7 8

a Draw a dot plot for this data.

b How many students are in the class?
c What are the outliers?
d What are the clusters or gaps?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 47

 2 This dot plot shows the shoe sizes of a sample of Shoe size
Year 11 students.
a How many students are there in the sample?
b What is the mode? 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
c Find the outlier and describe the student that has
this outlier shoe size.
d What fraction of students have a shoe size of 8 or 9?

3 The Bennelong Bears scored the following numbers of goals per match in their
first season.
4 0 2 3 7 1 2 4 5 0 3 5
a Display the data as a dot plot.
b What was the lowest score?
c Comment on any clusters or outliers.

4 A survey was conducted to determine the number of people in each car in a sample of
cars on a road. The results are shown below.
6 3 1 2 3 1 1 3 4 2
5 3 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 4
a Display the data as a dot plot.
b How many cars were surveyed?
c What was the highest score?
d Comment on any clusters or outliers.

5 This dot plot shows the scores (out of 10) of students Words correct
competing in a spelling bee.
a How many students competed in the spelling bee?
b What percentage of students scored more than 8?
c Where were the scores clustered?
d Comment on the general performance of the 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
contestants in the spelling bee.

Example 6 This unordered stem-and-leaf plot represents the number of points scored per match by
15 the Sharks in a football season.
Stem Leaf
a Redraw the data as an ordered stem-and-leaf plot.
4 539
b How many matches were played in the season? 5 7208
c What was the Sharks’ highest score for a match? 6 478512
d For what percentage of matches did the Sharks score 7 2930
below 56 points? 8 942

48 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 7 Jeremy sells sausage sandwiches outside the hardware store on Sundays. The number of
sandwiches sold each day over 30 Sundays was recorded as follows.

66 64 28 93 47 110 53 68 117 43
72 68 84 103 59 82 78 61 104 79
51 63 112 81 79 94 42 57 83 100

a Draw a stem-and-leaf plot to represent this data.

b On what percentage of days did Jeremy sell more than 50 sausage sandwiches?
c What is the outlier? Give one possible reason for this outlier.

8 This plot shows the times (in seconds) in a slalom ski race.

Stem Leaf
9 1579
10 245668
11 0223445
12 1233379
13 234577
14 369
15 012

a How many skiers participated in the race?

b What was the winning time?
c If those skiers with times under 110 seconds were of Olympic standard, what
percentage of skiers were of this standard?

9 A nurse at Greenacres Hospital took the following pulse rates (in heartbeats per minute)
of 40 patients.

71 81 63 55 93 52 69 78 84 65
72 80 68 74 85 79 90 84 76 68
58 64 60 97 83 69 74 56 64 89
94 81 63 60 76 72 110 83 90 64
a Draw a stem-and-leaf plot for this data.
b If the average pulse is from 65 to 75 beats per minute inclusive, how many patients
had an average pulse?
c Find the outlier and describe the patient that has this pulse.
d A very fit person has a low resting pulse (say, less than 60). How many patients were
in this category?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 49

 10 This plot shows the prices (in $1000s) of homes listed by a Mudgee real estate agent.

Stem Leaf
2 04  10  17  18  26  35  37  76  77
3 10  26  42  66  54  76  85  85  85
4 02  53  62  65  73  75  76  85
5 03  10  24  60  68  92
6 14  29  32  34  35  35  54
7 18  52  63  85
8 12  25  46  72  93
9 38  75

a What is the price of the most expensive home?

b How many homes are listed?
c Which price is shared by three different homes?

11 At the school athletics carnival, runners recorded the following times (in seconds) in the
100-metre sprint.
12.1 13.6 11.8 18.1 12.0 15.6 13.9 17.2
14.5 18.7 15.7 14.6 16.3 11.6 17.7 15.6
14.6 15.4 12.4 16.5 17.4 14.6 16.8 14.3
a Represent this data on a stem-and-leaf plot using stems of 11, 12 etc.
b How many runners were there?
c What was:
i the best time recorded?
ii the worst time recorded?
d What percentage of students took more than 15 seconds to run the distance?
Answer correct to one decimal place.
e To qualify for the regional carnival, a runner’s time must be less than 13.5 seconds.
What fraction of students qualified for the regional carnival?

DID YOU KNOW?

Outliers and global warming

An outlier can often be the most important score in a data set.
Global warming and the effect of the hole in Earth’s ozone layer are troubling issues in
our world today. In 1976, scientists in Antarctica began detecting low levels of ozone in
Earth’s atmosphere, but dismissed these low levels as ‘unimportant outliers’. Because of
this, the damage to our ozone layer went undetected and untreated for another 9 years.
How does the hole in the ozone layer contribute to global warming?

50 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 SAMPLE HSC PROBLEM

A sample of 3000 rugby league fans was surveyed on their main concerns about the
national competition. The results of the survey are shown by the sector graph below.
Fans concerns about rugby league

Happy with Players’

game as is off-field
23% behaviour
30%
Protection for
goal kickers
5%
Players’
salaries
15% TV coverage
Tackle rules
19% 8%

a Which one of the following statements is correct? Select A, B, C or D.

A The data shown in the sector graph is categorical.
B More than one-third of fans were concerned about players’ off-field behaviour.
C The data shown in the sector graph could also be displayed on a line graph.
D The least common concern of fans was TV coverage.
b Describe a method of selecting a stratified sample of rugby league fans.
c Calculate, correct to the nearest degree, the angle size of the sector for ‘Happy with
the game as it is’. Show your working.
d Which concern was shared by 450 fans?
e Write one disadvantage of using a sector graph to illustrate data.

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 51

 Study tip
Four practical steps in studying maths
‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’
Lao Tzu (c. 570–490 BCE), ancient Chinese philosopher

Step 1: Practise your maths

• Do your homework.
• Learning maths is about mastering a collection of skills.
• You become successful at maths by doing it more, through regular practice and training.
• Aim to achieve a high level of understanding.

Step 2: Rewrite your maths

• Homework and study are not the same thing.

• Study is your private ‘revision’ work for strengthening your understanding of a subject.
• Take ownership of your maths.
• Rewrite the theory and examples in your own words.
• Summarise each topic to see the ‘whole picture’ and know it all.

Step 3: Attack your maths

• All maths knowledge is interconnected.

• If you don’t understand one topic fully, then you may have trouble learning another
topic: ‘You cannot run until you have learned to walk’.
• Mathematics is not a subject you can learn ‘by halves’ – you have to know it all!
• Fill in any gaps in your mathematical knowledge to see the ‘whole picture’.
• Identify your areas of weakness and work on them.
• Spend most of your study time on the topics which you find difficult.

Step 4: Check your maths

• Once you have mastered the maths skills, there is no further learning or reading needed.
• Compared to other subjects, the types of questions asked in maths exams are more
conventional and predictable.
• Test your understanding with revision exercises, practice papers and past exams.
• Develop your exam technique and problem-solving skills.
• Go back to Steps 1 to 3 to improve your study.

52 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 1. CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter, Collecting and presenting data, looked at the graphing of data, sampling
techniques and the methods of data collection. You should be able to interpret and construct
various graphs and displays, know the different types of data and samples, and be familiar
with statistical terminology.
Make a summary of this topic. Use the chapter outline at the beginning of this chapter
and the mind map below as a guide. Use your own words, symbols, diagrams, boxes and
reminders. Gain a ‘whole picture’ view of the topic and identify any weak areas.

Types of data

Statistical Sampling
graphs techniques

COLLECTING AND
PRESENTING DATA

Dot plots, Frequency

stem-and-leaf histograms and
plots polygons

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 53

 1. TEST YOURSELF

Exercise 1 This bar graph shows the ten most fatal types of cancer for males in Australia in 2013.
1.01
Types of cancer deaths for males
Stomach
Oesophageal
Colon
Liver
Melanoma
Pancreatic
Colorectal
Prostate
Bowel
Lung
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2013

a How many fatal cases of bowel cancer were registered?

b What was the fifth most fatal type of cancer?
c How many types of cancer recorded fewer than 2000 cases each?
d ‘There were more lung cancer deaths recorded than bowel and prostate cancer
deaths combined.’ True or false?
e Why would it be unsuitable to graph this data on a sector graph?

Exercise 2 A sample of consumers was surveyed about Shower gel used

1.02 33
the brand of shower gel they used. This graph
32
Number of consumers

of the survey results was used by Green Water

31
in their advertising campaign. 30
a Describe one way in which this graph 29
is misleading and what a correct graph 28
should look like. 27
26
b Name another type of graph that could 25
be used to display this data. Brown Blue Green
Earth Sky Water
Type of shower gel

54 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 3 Classify each of the following types of data as categorical (C) or numerical (N). Exercise

a the number of people watching a State of Origin football match 1.03

b the different brands of surfing magazines

c level of university degree
d the temperatures at an airport
e the number of levels in an office building
f the country of birth of each person living in Gosford.
Exercise
4 For each of the categorical data identified in Question 3, classify as nominal (N) or ordinal (O). 1.03

5 For each of the numerical data identified in Question 3, classify as discrete (D) or Exercise
continuous (C). 1.03

6 The manufacturers of Burp Cola want to conduct a quality control study to ensure that each Exercise

bottle of drink made does, in fact, contain 1.25 litres. Which type of sample would be most 1.04
appropriate: random, systematic, stratified or self-selected? Give a reason for your answer.

7 a To investigate the types of music to play at the school disco, Tasha surveyed a Exercise

sample of 50 students visiting the canteen. Why might this sample be biased? 1.04

b Suppose Tasha uses a stratified sample instead, based on the following numbers of
school students in each Year group:

Year 7 8 9 10 11 12
Number of students 114 120 114 128 105 96

If she surveys a sample of 50 students, how many Year 10 students should be in the
sample?

8 Explain what is wrong with each survey question below and write a better question each time. Exercise

a How often do you visit the doctor? 1.04

b What did you like or dislike about the film?

c Is it time that Australia grew up and became a republic?

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 55

Exercise 9 A sample of senior citizens was Number of countries Number of people
1.05 surveyed about the number
0 3
of countries they have visited.
The results are shown in the table. 1–3 8
4–10 32
a How many people were in the
sample? 11–20 28

b Graph this data on a sector 21–30 17

graph. 31+ 5
c What is the angle of the sector
representing those who have not
travelled outside Australia?
d What percentage of the sample have visited 4 to 10 countries? Answer correct to
one decimal place.
e ‘More than half of the sample have visited 11 or more countries.’ True or false?
f Why would it be inappropriate to graph this data on a line graph?

Exercise
10 A company surveyed its employees on reasons for arriving late to work, to help assist
1.05 people to be more punctual. The results are shown on the Pareto chart.

Causes of lateness to work

60 100%
90%

Cumulative percentage frequency

50
80%
70%
40
60%
Frequency

30 50%
40%
20
30%
20%
10
10%
0 0%
Traffic Child Public Weather Overslept Emergency
care transport

a What are the two main reasons employees give for being late to work?
b What is the least common reason for being late to work?
c How many employees are late due to using public transport?
d What percentage of employees are late due to using public transport?
e What are two possible ways this company might assist its employees to improve
their ability to arrive at work on time?

56 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

11 The masses (in kilograms) of 40 skydivers were recorded. The results are shown below. Exercise

1.06
58 63 77 82 53 69 65 80 96 105
79 63 52 90 104 85 65 87 68 105
65 87 109 84 62 75 102 78 93 84
68 105 74 59 68 74 88 66 70 62
a Are people’s masses discrete data or continuous data?
b Organise this data into a frequency distribution table with class intervals 50−< 60,
60−< 70 etc.
c Draw a frequency histogram and polygon to represent the data.
d Which class interval had the highest frequency?
e What fraction of skydivers were in the 80–< 90 kg class?

12 The ages of a sample of children at a Wiggles concert are listed below. Exercise

1.07
6 0 4 1 5 6 4 2 8 6 4 4
3 6 5 5 2 5 3 1 5 6 3 3
a Draw a dot plot for this data.
b How many children were in the sample?
c What fraction of children were over 5 years old?
d Comment on any clusters.

13 This stem-and-leaf plot shows the ages of visitors entering Stem Leaf Exercise

the Royal Easter Show in a 5-minute period. 0 389 1.07

a What was the age of the youngest visitor? 1 02225769

b How many visitors entered the show during the 2 023467
5-minute period? 3 13349
c What was the most common age of the visitors? 4 3478
5 558 Qz
d What percentage (correct to the nearest whole number)
of visitors were over 30 years old? Chapter quiz

ISBN 9780170413565 1. Collecting and presenting data 57