Math11n

Mathematics in the
Modern World
Lesson 3.1: Data Gathering and Organizing
Data
Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to :

● Differentiate between qualitative data and quantitative data.

● Classify data according to the four levels of measurement.
● Represent data in frequency distributions graphically, using
histograms and frequency polygons.
Learning Activity

Imagine yourself as an employee of the

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and
assigned to gather information about a
small town in a remote province of
Southern Philippines. You are given the
task of selecting the type of data that will
be useful for the community. What type of
data will you collect? How are you going to
organize and interpret the data you have
collected?
Progress:
 Over the years, people have been
interested in determining the occurrence of
certain events at certain periods of time
(i.e., birth rates, mortality rates), crop yields,
frequency of failures in school entrance
exams, etc. These activities deal with the
counts or numerical measures of activities,
events, and things, which are called
statistics in a limited sense.
Data Gathering and Organizing Data

Statistics is a science that deals with the collection, presentation,

analysis, and interpretation of data.
Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring
information about variables being studied in an established systematic
procedure. It refers to facts or figures from which a conclusion can be made.
Data gathering involves getting information through individual
interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, observations, experimentations,
and many other methods.
Population and Sample

A common way of expressing the fact that there are 18 565 people in
a city is to say that it has a population of 18 565. The term population, as
used in statistics, refers to a set of people, objects, measurements, or events
that belong to a defined group.
For example:
● Total number of trees or carabaos in a town
● All the residents of Baybay City
● All the academic staff of VSU at a specific time
The distinguishing characteristic of a population is that all members are
included according to whatever defines the population.
Population and Sample

A sample is defined as a subset of a population. A sample is any

subset of elements drawn by some appropriate method from a defined
population. The sample is a small but representative cross-section of the
population.
Quantitative vs Qualitative Data

Quantitative data can be counted, measured, and expressed using

numbers. Contrary to quantitative data, qualitative data is descriptive and
conceptual. It can be categorized based on traits and characteristics.

Qualitative data include information on Quantitative data, on the other hand,

attributes such as: involve numbers and are the result of
• Sex (male and female) counting or measuring. For example:
• Attitude (favorable or not favorable) • Number of students in a class
• Emotional condition (happy or sad) • Price of a certain commodity
• Color (white, black, or brown) • Age of Olympians
• Civil status (single or married) • Temperature of Coffee
• Ratings (excellent, good, satisfactory, or • Height of basketball players
poor) • Weight of an individual
Types of Numerical Data

Discrete variables are those obtained through counting. It can only assume
a countable or finite number of values. It cannot take the form of decimals.

Other examples of discrete variable:

● Number of children in a family
● Number of barangays in a city
● Number of buildings in a school
● Number of female employees in a company
Types of Numerical Data

Continuous variables are the result of a measurement. It can assume

infinitely many and continuous values.

Other examples of continuous data:

● Height
● Weight
● Length
● Temperature
Illustration 1
Four Levels of Measurement

The measurement of the characteristics of the data is classified

within a hierarchy of measurement scales that include the nominal scale,
the ordinal scale, the interval scale, and the ratio scale. It is important to
know the kind of variable or data we are dealing with so that the data
gathered can be properly interpreted and the appropriate statistics are
used.
Four Levels of Measurement

1. Nominal Scale – are variables which can be classified into two or more
categories. The variables are grouped such that all those in a single class
are equivalent with respect to some attribute or property.
Examples:
● Student ID Number
● Sex (male/female)
● Soft drinks (Coke/Pepsi/Sarsi)
● Religion (Roman Catholic/Protestant/Islam)
● Nationality (Filipino/American/German/Korean)
● Birthplace of Respondents (Urban/Rural)
● Work Station (Government/Private)
Four Levels of Measurement

2. Ordinal Scale – In this scale, there is no standard difference in

measurement. It has one additional property over those of the nominal
scale where it classifies data; however, the classification has ranks.
Examples:
● Grading System
● Military Rank
● Job Position
● Academic Honors
● Likert Scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strong Disagree)
Four Levels of Measurement

3. Interval Scale – An interval scale possesses the characteristics of the

nominal and ordinal scale wherein the data are categorized and ranked.
However, this scale has the property of meaningful distance between
values. The zero point of the interval scale is just arbitrary and does not
reflect an absence of the attribute (no true zero point).
Examples:
● Intelligence (IQ)
● Test scores
● Temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius
Four Levels of Measurement

4. Ratio Scale – This scale takes all the properties of the interval scale with
an identifiable absolute zero point. Here, the zero point is not arbitrary but
indicates the total absence of the property measured. A ratio variable refers
to a variable where equality of ratio or proportion has meaning.
Examples:
● Height
● Weight
● Distance
● Monthly Income
● Temperature in Kelvin
● Money
Forms of Data Presentation

1. Frequency Distribution Table. This is an excellent device for making larger

collections of data much more manageable. The frequency distribution
table has two parts – the frequency table and the extended frequency
table.

• A frequency table lists categories of scores along with their

corresponding frequencies. The frequency for a category or class is the
number of original scores that fall into that class.
• The extended frequency table consists of columns that can generate
various graphs or charts. It is a prerequisite for creating graphs and
charts used in statistics.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

It consists of the following:

• Class intervals (lower and upper limits)

• Marks
• Frequency
• Cumulative frequency
• Relative frequency
• Cumulative relative frequency

Progress:
Guidelines for frequency tables:

• Class intervals should not overlap. Classes are mutually exclusive.

• Classes should continue throughout the distribution with no gaps.
Include all classes.
• All classes should have the same width.
• Class widths should be “convenient” numbers.
• Use 5-20 classes.
• Make lower or upper limits multiples of the width.

Progress:
Example 1:

Given the following statistics scores of 50 students in a senior high school

class, make a frequency distribution table.

30 39 54 42 38 32 31 32 25 37
44 33 35 20 37 40 47 32 26 33
45 37 32 35 22 30 51 38 36 35
31 37 40 48 36 33 44 43 38 36
26 32 49 36 32 36 41 38 42 39
Solution

Step 1: Arrange the raw data in ascending order (highest to lowest).

54 42 37 35 32
51 41 37 35 31
49 40 37 33 31
48 40 37 33 30
47 39 36 33 30
45 39 36 32 26
44 38 36 32 26
44 38 36 32 25
43 38 36 32 22
42 38 35 32 20
Progress:
Solution

Step 2: Solve for the range (R).

𝑅 = ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 − 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒

𝑅 = 54 − 20
𝑅 = 34

Progress:
Solution

Step 3: Determine the number of classes using Sturge’s Rule. Under this
rule, the number of classes is given by:

where:
𝑘 = no. of classes
𝑘 = 1 + 3.3 (log 𝑛) 𝑛 = the no. of cases
𝑘 = 1 + 3.3 (log 50) in the data
𝑘 = 1 + 3.3 1.69897
𝑘 = 1 + 5.607
𝑘 = 6.607

Progress:
Solution

Step 4: Solve for the number of classes.

R 34
𝑐= = = 5.146 𝑜𝑟 5
𝑘 6.607
(Round off to the nearest whole number)

Progress:
Solution
Step 5: Construct the frequency table.
a. Determine the lower limit (LL) of the first class.
When zero is the lowest value, then it naturally becomes the lower limit of
the lowest class. Since the lowest value in the data set is 20, then this will
serve as our starting point.

b. Enumerate the class intervals.

The succeeding lower limits (LL) can be established first by simply
adding the class size 𝑐 to the preceding lower limit. The upper limit (UL)
is the step lower in the next class. Always bear in mind that classes
should not overlap. The following formula can also be used:
𝑈𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 = 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 + 𝐶 − 1 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒
Note: The difference between successive upper limits is also equal to 𝑐.

Progress:
 Solution
c. Tally the observations to determine the class frequencies.
d. For the class mark, compute the midpoint of the class limits/class
𝐿𝐿+𝑈𝐿 20+24
boundaries using the formula: 𝑚 = 2 . For example, 𝑚 = 2 = 22,
then you may just add the class width 𝑐 = 5 for the succeeding class
marks. That is, the class marks are 22, 27, 32, and so on.
e. For < 𝑐𝑓, start from the lowest group frequency, then add the frequency
of each class for the succeeding classes.
f. For > 𝑐𝑓, start from the highest group frequency, then add the frequency
of each class for the succeeding classes.
g. For 𝑟𝑓, it is the f divided by n, where n is the total number of scores.
𝑓
𝑟𝑓 = × 100
𝑛

Progress:
Solution

Class Interval Class Tally Frequency Class

LL – UL Boundaries 𝒇 Marks
LB - UB
20 – 24 19.5 - 24.5 II 2 22
25 – 29 24.5 - 29.5 III 3 27
30 – 34 29.5 - 34.5 IIII – IIII - III 13 32
35 – 39 34.5 - 39.5 IIII–IIII–IIII–III 18 37
40 – 44 39.5 - 44.5 IIII - III 8 42
45 – 49 44.5 - 49.5 IIII 4 47
50 – 54 49.5 - 54.5 II 2 52
Total 𝑛 = 50

Progress:
Solution

Class Freque Less than Greater Relative Cumulativ

Interval ncy Cumulativ than Frequency e Relative
LL - UL 𝒇 e Cumulative 𝒓𝒇 (%) Frequency
Frequency Frequency (%)
< 𝒄𝒇 > 𝒄𝒇
20 - 24 2 2 50 4% 4%
25 – 29 3 5 48 6% 10%
30 – 34 13 18 45 26% 36%
35 – 39 18 36 32 36% 72%
40 – 44 8 44 14 16% 88%
45 – 49 4 48 6 8% 96%
50 – 54 2 50 2 4% 100%

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

1. Make Charts or Graphs

After gathering and organizing the data in a frequency
distribution, the next step is to present them in a way that is
easier to understand. One way is through graphical
representation. There are a number of graphs or charts in the
presentation of the frequency distribution. These include
histogram, frequency polygon, and cumulative frequency
(ogive).

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

a) The histogram is a graph in which the classes are marked on the

horizontal axis (x-axis) and the class frequencies on the vertical
axis (y-axis). The height of the bars represents the class
frequencies, and the bars are drawn adjacent to each other.

Example 2:
Consider the data set of Zoe’s Exam Scores. Take a look at
its frequency distribution table and create a histogram.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

Solution:
Step 1: Find the class marks (midpoints) of each class.
Step 2: Draw and label the 𝑥-axis and 𝑦-axis.
Step 3: Represent the frequency on the 𝑦-axis and the midpoints on
the 𝑥-axis.
Step 4: Use the frequency to represent the height and draw the
vertical bars.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

b) The frequency polygon is a graph that displays the data using points
that are connected by lines. It actually looks like a line graph. The
frequencies are represented by the heights of the points at the
midpoints of the classes. The vertical axis represents the frequency of
the distribution, while the horizontal axis represents the midpoints of the
frequency distribution.
Example 3:
Consider the frequency distribution of the previous example and
make a frequency polygon.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

Solution:
Step 1: Find the class marks (midpoints) of each class.
Step 2: Draw and label the 𝑥-axis and 𝑦-axis.
Step 3: Represent the frequency on the 𝑦-axis and the midpoints on
the 𝑥-axis.
Step 4: Connect the dots. Draw a line back to the 𝑥-axis at the
beginning and end of the graph.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

Frequency
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

22 27 32 37 42 47 52

Statistics
Scores
Frequency Polygon for Students’ Statistics Scores
Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

c) The cumulative frequency polygon or ogive (read as “oh’ – jive”) is a

graph that displays the cumulative frequencies for the classes in a
frequency distribution. The graph is typical “upward” in trend. It also
shows values below a certain boundary.
Example 4:
Consider the frequency distribution of the previous example and
make a cumulative frequency polygon.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

Solution:
Step 1: Find the cumulative distribution of the data set.
Step 2: Draw and label the 𝑥-axis and 𝑦-axis.
Step 3: Represent the cumulative frequency on the 𝑦-axis and the
midpoints on the 𝑥-axis.
Step 4: Connect adjacent points with line segments.

Progress:
Forms of Data Presentation

Cumulative Relative Frequency (%)

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10

22 27 32 37 42 47 52

Statistics Scores
Cumulative Frequency Polygon for Students’ Statistics Scores
Progress:
LEARNING
TASK 3.1
 Answer in a 1 whole sheet of paper.

Given below are the mathematics scores of 54 students in a high school

senior class.
71 77 68 64 55 50 45 40 35
31 33 36 40 45 50 55 63 70
72 74 66 63 61 60 56 50 46
41 38 34 39 41 46 50 56 57
51 46 42 46 51 58 59 52 47
43 44 47 53 48 48 49 50 42
Construct the following:
a. Frequency distribution table
b. Histogram
c. Frequency polygon
d. Ogive Progress: