Handling Data 1
5 marks · HardA group of 25 students were each asked how many books they had read in the last month. Their responses are summarised below:
Construct a tally chart for the following data about the number of books read:
- Student 1–5
- 0, 2, 1, 2, 3
- Student 6–10
- 4, 2, 1, 0, 2
- Student 11–15
- 3, 2, 2, 5, 1
- Student 16–20
- 2, 3, 3, 2, 4
- Student 21–25
- 1, 2, 0, 3, 2
Books read by each student
State both the mode and the median number of books read.
Based on your tally chart, comment briefly on the reading habits of this group.
Work this out on paper, then compare with the answer and worked solution below. With a free account you can submit written answers for marking.
Show answer
(a) Tally chart with correct tallies and frequencies for numbers 0 to 5. · must show Correct tally marks, Accurate frequencies, All groups 0–5 shown
(b) Mode: 2; Median: 2 · must show Mode=2, Median=2
(c) Most students read 2 books; half read 2 or fewer. Few read more than 4.
Common mistakes: Omitting a tally group; Incorrect median identification
Show mark scheme and worked solution
Marking points
M1 (a) · 1 mark · Attempts tally chart with all results present
A1 (a) · 1 mark · All tallies and frequencies accurate for each group (0–5)
B1 (b) · 1 mark · Mode identified correctly from tally/frequency (follow-through)
B2 (b) · 1 mark · Median identified correctly from ordered data (follow-through)
C1 (c) · 1 mark · Short, sensible comment about reading habits based on table (e.g., most students read a low number) (follow-through)
Worked solution
a. List all frequencies for each possible value (0–5):
| Books read | Tally | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | ||| | 3 |
| 1 | |||| | 4 |
| 2 | ||||| |||| | 9 |
| 3 | ||||| | 5 |
| 4 | || | 2 |
| 5 | | | 1 |
b. Mode is the value with the highest frequency: 2 (9 students).
Order the data. The 13th value (the median) is 2.
c. Most students read 2 books. Half read 2 or fewer; most read between 1 and 3, very few managed 5.