IGCSE Mathematics Year 3

UNIT 2: HANDLING DATA 1

Learning objectives
In this chapter we will learn how to:
• Use pie charts and frequency polygons.
• Construct and use two-way tables.
• Identify misleading graphs.
• Decide which average is best for a set of data.

Types of data
In statistical investigations we can have these 2 types of data:

o ……………………………., which is data that has can be in categories, such as eye colour.

o ……………………………., which is data described using numbers.

o Numeric data can be either …………………… or ……………………………

Types of data

Numerical (Quantitative) data Categorical (Qualitative) data

It can be represented by a numerical quantity. It cannot be measured numerically.
Examples:

Discrete data Continuous data

The data we can count and The data we can measure and they
they can only take can take any value in an interval.
fixed and exact values.
(there are no in between values)

Summary:
• Discrete data is counted
• Continuous data is measured
• Categorical data cannot be counted or measured.

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
Collecting data
• To collect data we can use a tally chart as this allows us to record results faster.
• The tally chart also gives an idea of the shape of the distribution.
• We will also sometimes have to decide how to group our data and then create a table to record the
collected data.

Example:
In the tally chart below we will record the eye colour of our Year 3 class.
Eye Colour Tally Frequency
Brown
Blue
Green
Black
Other
Total:

Summary:
• Draw a neat table, deciding how to group the data if necessary.
• Make a vertical tally mark for each piece of data in the group.
• The fifth tally mark is a diagonal line through the four vertical tally marks.

Exercise 1* p. 153
1. Classify the following data as discrete, continuous or categorical.
a. Weight of potatoes
b. Types of pizza
c. Shoe size
d. Length of a phone call
e. Hair colour
f. Number of times a student is late for school

Homework Exercise 1 p.153

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II. Presenting Data
Data can be displayed in statistical diagrams such as:
• ………………………………………..

• ………………………………………..

• ………………………………………..

• ………………………………………..

• ……………………………………..

Pictograms
A pictogram uses pictures to show the
frequencies.

A pictogram is visually appealing and

conveys a good overall feel of the data.

Sometimes it is difficult to read the

frequencies accurately.

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Pie charts
A pie chart is a good way of representing proportions.

The angle of each sector represents the proportion.

To construct a pie chart you have to express each frequency as an angle

Bar charts
A bar chart shows the frequency by the length of a bar.

All bar charts for categorical and discrete data have gaps between the bars.

e.g. The table and the bar chart below show the numbers of driving tests taken by a group of students
before they passed the test

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
Two-way tables
A two-way table shows how data falls into different categories.

Total is often included to help further calculations and conclusions.

e.g. A survey of eye colour in Class A and Class B was made. The results are displayed in a two-way table.

Comparative Bar Charts

Comparative bar charts can be used to compare the distributions of two sets of data.

e.g.

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
Exercise 2 p. 157
4. A café owner records the drinks sold in his café on one day. The information is shown in the table.
a) Work out the angles on a pie chart for each type of drink.
b) Draw a pie chart to show the information.

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Exercise 2* p.158
2. Some students were asked to name their favourite sport. The results are in the table.

a) Draw a bar chart to illustrate these results.

b) How many students were in the survey?

3. Kristen records the number of hats sold in her shop.

a) Draw a comparative bar chart to illustrate this data.
b) Comment on the sales of hats in Year 1 and Year 2.

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
4. 40 students went on holiday abroad.
The table below shows the number of students who visited each country.

Draw an accurate pie chart to show this information.

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
Averages for Discrete Data
• …………………………………..
• …………………………………..
• …………………………………..

The mean of a set of values =

The median is the ………………….. when the data is written in ascending (increasing) order.
Note: For an even number of values, the median is the ……….. of the middle two values.

The mode is the most ………….. value.

o It is possible to have no mode or more than one mode.
o The mode can be used for non-numerical (categorical) data.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uydzT_WiRz4

Exercise 3* p.163:
Find the mean, median and mode of the following sets of data.
1. The numbers of TV programs watched by a group of friends over the weekend were
5, 0, 4, 9, 0, 1, 6, 0, 2

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
6. The mean number of ice creams sold per day by a shop during the 31 days of January was 91.
During the 28 days of February the mean was 95 per day. Find the mean number sold per day for the
two-month period.

7. David recorded the number of worms found in a square metre of earth over a period of six
days. He had put his data in order when a large raindrop made the middle two values on
his paper impossible to read. The values were 8, 10, *, *, 17, 23. The mean of the data was
14, and the median was 13. Find the two missing values.

8. The data 1, x, 3, y, 8, z is in ascending order. The mean of the data is 5, the median is 4.5
and the mode is 3. Find x, y and z.

Homework Exercise 3 p.162

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Homework Exercise 3* p.163
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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
Comparing the mean, median and mode.
• The mean, median and mode are all different averages of a set of data. An average is a single value that
should give you some idea about all the data.

• When the data is plotted as a bar chart, if the result is roughly

‘bell shaped’ or ‘normal’ then the mean, median and mode all
give approximately the same answers.

• If there are a few very high or very low values (both are called
‘outliers’) then these can distort the averages, and you need to
choose which average is the best to use.

• To choose which average to use in each case you need to consider the following

Example:
The wages per week in a small firm are
$500, $500, $650, $660, $670, $680, $3000.
The mean is $951 (to the nearest dollar). The median is $660. The mode $500.
The mode is the two lowest values and is not representative.
The mean is not very useful as it is distorted by the managing director’s large salary.
The median is the best to use as it tells us most about the data.
However, it all depends on your point of view!
In wage negotiations, the managing director can claim that the ‘average’ salary is good at $951, while the
union representative can claim that the ‘average’ salary is poor at $500. Both are telling the truth, it all
depends which ‘average’ you use.

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IGCSE Mathematics Year 3
Shape of distributions
• The shape of a distribution gives information about the data it represents and depends on the data.
• The spread of a distribution is also a very important factor to know when you are interpreting a
distribution.
• We will learn more about distributions later in this book.

Exercise 4 p.165:
1. The annual salaries of staff who work in a cake shop are
£12 000, £12 000, £15 000, £18 000, £40 000

a. Work out the mean, median and mode of staff salaries.

b. The company wishes to insert one of the averages of the salaries in an advertisement
for new staff. Which of the averages would be the most appropriate? Give reasons for
your answer.

Homework Exercise 4 p.165

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