Frequency Distribution
A frequency distribution is a table or graph that shows the frequency of occurrence of different values in a dataset. The frequency of occurrence is the number of times a value appears in the dataset.
A frequency distribution can be used to summarize a dataset and to identify patterns in the data. For example, a frequency distribution can be used to show the distribution of income in a population or the distribution of test scores in a class.
There are two main types of frequency distributions:
- Discrete frequency distributions: These distributions show the frequency of occurrence of discrete values, such as the number of people in a population who have a certain income or the number of students in a class who have a certain test score.
- Continuous frequency distributions: These distributions show the frequency of occurrence of continuous values, such as the height of people in a population or the weight of students in a class.
The following is an example of a discrete frequency distribution:
| Income | Frequency | |–-|---| | $0-20,000 | 10 | | $20,000-40,000 | 20 | | $40,000-60,000 | 30 | | $60,000-80,000 | 40 | | $80,000-100,000 | 50 | | $100,000+ | 60 |
The following is an example of a continuous frequency distribution:
| Height | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 5 feet 0 inches | 10 |
| 5 feet 1 inch | 20 |
| 5 feet 2 inches | 30 |
| 5 feet 3 inches | 40 |
| 5 feet 4 inches | 50 |
| 5 feet 5 inches | 60 |
Frequency distributions can be used to create graphs, such as histograms and bar charts. These graphs can help to visualize the data and to identify patterns in the data.
Frequency distributions are a valuable tool for summarizing data and for identifying patterns in the data. They can be used to compare different datasets and to identify trends over time.