Displaying Data
A picture is worth a thousand numbers. The same data set can tell completely different stories depending on how you display it. A poorly chosen graph can hide patterns, exaggerate differences, or mislead viewers. A well-chosen display reveals structure, shows relationships, and communicates findings clearly.
Practise this lesson
Three printable worksheets that build from foundations to mastery — or build your own from any module’s questions.
Twenty students took a test. Their marks were: 45, 52, 55, 58, 60, 62, 65, 65, 68, 70, 72, 75, 78, 80, 82, 85, 88, 90, 92, 95.
Before reading on — how would you group these to show the distribution clearly? Which type of display would you use?
Three core displays are tested in HSC Maths Standard. Each serves a different purpose and reveals different aspects of a distribution.
Frequency table: organises raw data into classes with a count for each group. Always use equal class widths.
Histogram: a bar graph for grouped continuous data where bars touch. Bar height = frequency.
Stem-and-leaf plot: shows all individual values while revealing the shape of the distribution. Back-to-back version compares two groups on the same stem.
Key facts
- Types of data displays
- When to use each display
- Class width and class boundaries
Concepts
- How display choice affects perception
- Why bars touch in histograms
- How back-to-back plots compare groups
Skills
- Create frequency tables with equal class widths
- Draw histograms and stem-and-leaf plots
- Describe distribution shape and critique displays
A frequency table groups data into classes and counts how many values fall in each class.
Example: Test marks for 30 students, class width = 10
| Mark range | Frequency | Cumulative frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 0–49 | 2 | 2 |
| 50–59 | 4 | 6 |
| 60–69 | 8 | 14 |
| 70–79 | 9 | 23 |
| 80–89 | 5 | 28 |
| 90–100 | 2 | 30 |
What to write in your book
- Frequency table: equal class widths, no gaps, every value belongs to exactly one class.
- Add cumulative frequency column to find percentile positions.
- Modal class = the class with the highest frequency.
Quick check: A frequency table has classes 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59. The class width is:
A histogram is a bar graph for grouped numerical data where:
- Each bar represents one class (group)
- Bar height = frequency (or relative frequency)
- Bars touch each other — no gaps — because the data is continuous
- All bars must have equal width
Key features to identify when reading a histogram:
- Symmetry: Are both halves roughly the same shape?
- Skew: Positive skew = long tail to the right; negative skew = long tail to the left.
- Centre: Where do most values cluster (mode class)?
- Spread: How wide is the distribution across the x-axis?
- Modality: Unimodal (one peak) or bimodal (two peaks)?
- Outliers: Isolated bars far from the main body?
What to write in your book
- Histogram = bar graph for continuous data. Bars touch. Equal class widths required.
- Positive skew: tail right (mean > median). Negative skew: tail left (mean < median).
- Bimodal histogram has two peaks — may indicate two distinct sub-groups in the data.
True or false: In a histogram, the bars have gaps between them to distinguish each class.
A stem-and-leaf plot shows all data values while displaying the distribution's shape. Each value is split into a stem (leading digit/s) and a leaf (last digit).
Example: Ages: 21, 23, 25, 28, 31, 32, 35, 38, 41, 42
2 | 1 3 5 8
3 | 1 2 5 8
4 | 1 2
Key: 2 | 1 = 21
Advantages:
- Preserves all raw data values (unlike a histogram)
- Median and quartiles can be read directly
- Distribution shape is immediately visible
Back-to-back stem-and-leaf: Two groups share the same stem, with leaves extending in opposite directions. Used to compare distributions side by side.
What to write in your book
- Stem = leading digit(s); leaf = last digit. Always include a key (e.g., 3|5 = 35).
- Order leaves within each row from smallest to largest.
- Back-to-back: two groups share one stem, leaves go left and right.
Fill the gap: A stem-and-leaf plot for 23, 25, 28, 31, 32, 35 would have stems and . The leaves for stem 3 are: .
Worked examples · reveal each step
Heights (cm) of 20 students: 152, 155, 158, 160, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168, 170, 171, 172, 175, 178, 180, 182, 185, 188, 190, 195. Create a frequency table (class width 10) and describe the distribution.
Create a stem-and-leaf plot for: 23, 25, 28, 31, 32, 32, 35, 38, 41, 42, 45, 48
Common errors · the 3 traps that cost marks
What to write in your book
- Histograms: bars must touch; all class widths must be equal.
- Misleading graphs: truncated y-axis, unequal class widths, and inconsistent scales all distort interpretation.
- Stem-and-leaf: always include a key. Order leaves within each stem.
Match each display to its best use case:
Quick-fire practice · 2 activities
Create a frequency table (class width 5) for: 12, 15, 18, 22, 25, 28, 30, 32, 35, 38, 40, 42, 45. Draw a stem-and-leaf plot for: 56, 58, 62, 65, 68, 70, 72, 75, 78, 80, 82, 85, 88, 90, 92.
A histogram uses class widths of 1, 5 and 10 in different sections. Explain why this is problematic. When would a stem-and-leaf plot be better than a histogram?
Top 3 list: Name THREE ways a graph could be drawn to deliberately mislead the reader. For each, describe the technique and explain what it makes the data appear to show.
A good approach is a frequency table with class width 10: 40–49 (1), 50–59 (2), 60–69 (4), 70–79 (5), 80–89 (4), 90–99 (4). This shows a roughly symmetric distribution with a slight concentration in the 70s. A histogram would visualise this shape clearly. A stem-and-leaf plot would preserve all 20 individual values while showing the same shape, and lets you read the median and quartiles directly — an advantage for HSC calculation questions.
What has changed in your understanding? What did you get right? What surprised you?
Pick your answer, then rate your confidence — that tells the system what to drill next.
Q1. Which feature distinguishes a histogram from a bar chart?
Q2. A frequency table uses classes 30–39, 40–49, 50–59. How many of these values belong to the class 40–49? Values: 35, 42, 45, 48, 51, 39, 44.
Q3. A distribution has mean = 75, median = 70, mode = 65. This distribution is most likely:
Q4. A histogram uses classes 0–30, 30–50, 50–60, 60–70, 70–100. Why is this misleading?
Q5. Which display is best for comparing the test scores of two classes while retaining all individual values?
SA 1. Create a frequency table with class width 5 for: 22, 24, 28, 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 42, 45, 48, 50, 52, 55. Then draw a stem-and-leaf plot for the same data and describe the distribution shape. (2 marks)
SA 2. A histogram of exam marks uses classes 0–30, 30–50, 50–60, 60–70, 70–100. (a) Identify two problems with this choice of classes. (b) Explain how these problems could mislead the reader. (c) Suggest better class widths. (2 marks)
SA 3. (a) A newspaper presents the same unemployment data in two ways: Graph A uses a y-axis from 0–10% with monthly data; Graph B uses a y-axis from 4–6% with thick bars. How does each shape the reader's perception? (b) Discuss the ethical responsibility of data presenters when choosing graphical displays, using specific examples of how misleading displays can affect public opinion or policy. (3 marks)
Comprehensive answers (click to reveal)
MC 1 — C: Histograms represent continuous data; bars are adjacent with no gaps. Bar charts for categorical data have gaps.
MC 2 — B: Values in 40–49: 42, 45, 48, 44 = 4 values.
MC 3 — A: When mean > median > mode, the distribution is right (positively) skewed — a long tail pulls the mean up.
MC 4 — D: Class 0–30 has width 30; 30–50 has width 20; 50–60 has width 10. Unequal widths make bar heights incomparable — a shorter bar may represent more data per unit interval.
MC 5 — B: Back-to-back stem-and-leaf retains all individual values and displays both distributions on the same scale for direct comparison.
SA 1 (2 marks): Freq. table: 20–24: 2, 25–29: 1, 30–34: 2, 35–39: 3, 40–44: 2, 45–49: 2, 50–54: 2, 55–59: 1 [0.5]. Stem-and-leaf: 2|2 4 8; 3|1 3 5 6 8; 4|0 2 5 8; 5|0 2 5; Key: 2|2 = 22 [0.5]. Description: roughly symmetric, slight right skew, unimodal around 35–40 [1].
SA 2 (2 marks): (a) Unequal class widths; overlapping/ambiguous boundaries at 30, 50, 70 [0.5]. (b) Unequal widths make bars incomparable; a wide class looks large even with fewer values per mark; ambiguous boundaries cause uncertainty about where boundary values belong [0.5]. (c) Equal widths, e.g., 0–20, 20–40, 40–60, 60–80, 80–100 [1].
SA 3 (3 marks): (a) Graph A (0–10%): shows full context; changes appear small — reader perceives stability. Graph B (4–6%): zooms in; tiny changes look dramatic — reader perceives crisis or volatility [1]. (b) Data presenters have an ethical duty not to mislead through truncated axes, unequal scales or cherry-picked time frames. Examples: climate data with selective date ranges to deny trends; COVID graphs using log vs linear scale creating different impressions of growth; political polling presented without sampling methodology. These manipulations affect public health compliance, policy support and voting behaviour [2].
Five timed questions on frequency tables, histograms, stem-and-leaf plots and identifying misleading displays. Beat the boss to bank a tier — gold (90% + speed), silver (75%), or bronze (50%). Replays welcome.
⚔ Enter the arenaClimb platforms using data display knowledge. Pool: lesson 4.
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