Understanding
1 Complete the following statements with one of the following words:
i Stem ii Leaf
a The stem-and-leaf plot is made up of two components, the ⬚ and the ⬚.
b The ⬚ is used to represent the ones part of the score
c The ⬚ is usually used to represent the tens part of a score.
2 Consider the following stem-and-leaf plot:
Stem Leaf
a Using the given key, what number does
1 2889
3∣0 represent?
2 223478
b If the data value 65 is added to the stem-
and-leaf plot, which digit is the stem and 3 028
which is the leaf?
4 1
c What is the smallest value?
5 02
d What is the largest value?
Key 1∣2 = 12
3 Are the following statements about stem-and-leaf plots true or false?
a The data values are ordered.
b A stem-and-leaf plot does not show outliers clearly.
c A stem-and-leaf plot is only appropriate for data where values have high frequencies.
d The individual data values can be read on a stem-and-leaf plot.
Fluency
4 This stem-and-leaf plot records the ages of customers at a beachside cafe last Sunday. Use
the stem-and-leaf plot to complete the following frequency table:
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Stem Leaf Age Frequency
1 159 10–19
2 235679 20–29
3 012467 30–39
4 134689 40–49
5 147 50–59
60–69
6 24567
Key 5∣2 = 52 years old
5 The stem-and-leaf plot shows the number
of hours worked per week by a group of Number of hours
people: Stem Leaf
Identify the outlier. 1 2
2 7799
3 1333358
4 445
Key 4∣5 = 45 hours
6 The data below shows the prices paid for a ticket to a football match:
94, 66, 73, 96, 75, 60, 76, 84, 77, 82,
104, 84, 67, 85, 87, 91, 76, 97, 99, 64
Represent this data as an ordered stem-and-leaf plot.
Example 1
7 Consider the given stem-and-leaf plot:
Find the mean of this data set. Stem Leaf
1 2689
2 029
3 02
Key 1∣2 = 12
8 Consider the given stem-and-leaf plot:
Find the median of this data set. Stem Leaf
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Stem Leaf
1 29
2 467
3 0456
4 3579
5 02
6 5
7 39
8 45
Key 5∣2 = 52
9 An online booking website allows customers to buy tickets to concerts. Over the last month,
the website has been tracking how many tickets are sold in the first minute after they go on
sale. The results are displayed in this stem-and-leaf plot:
a How many concerts does this data set
Stem Leaf
represent?
1 00122348
b Find the highest number of tickets sold
for a concert in the first minute. 2 015789
c Find the difference between the highest 3 0268
and lowest number of tickets sold in the
4
first minute.
5 6
Key 1∣2 = 12 tickets sold
10 The following stem-and-leaf plot shows the age of people who enter through the gates of a
theme park in the first ten minutes:
a How many people passed through the
Stem Leaf
gates in the first ten minutes?
1 123344667
b What is the age of the youngest person?
2 02499
c What is the age of the oldest person?
d Find the median age. 3 2555
e Find the modal age. 4
5 3
Key 1∣2 = 12 years old
Example 2
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11 Roxanne is using a precision telescope to measure the size of craters, in kilometres, closest
to Olympus Mons on the surface of Mars. She records her findings in the given stem-and-
leaf plot:
a Find the median crater size.
Stem Leaf
b Find the range of crater sizes.
1 1236788
c Roxanne finds that the sum of all the
crater sizes is 661 km. Find the mean 2 134555
crater size, correct to two decimal 3 01123445788
places.
4 0
d Represent the stem-and-leaf plot as a
split stem-and-leaf plot.
Key 1∣2 = 12 kilometres
Example 3
Reasoning
12 Explain how can you use stem-and-leaf plots to identify the range of a given data set.
13 Consider the given stem-and-leaf plot:
Which measure of centre best represents Stem Leaf
the centre of the data? Explain your 2 3
reasoning.
3
4
5
6
7 1358
8 13345
9 34
Key 1∣2 = 12
14 The data below represents how long students in two different classes could hold their
breath for, measured to the nearest second.
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Ms. Jacobs' Mr. Ross'
Class Class
Stem Leaf Stem Leaf
1 55 1 507
2 93 2 64
3 627 3 35
4 75 4 7634
5 650 5 37
6 457 6 19
a Who is the teacher of the student who can hold their breath the longest?
b If you want to know which class, in general, is better at holding their breath, which
measure of centre would be best? Explain your reasoning.
15 Explain why the following statements are misinterpretations of the stem-and-leaf plot
shown.
a The stem-and-leaf plot shows that the Stem Leaf
lightest parcel arrived in a courier
1 1224
service is 11 kg while the heaviest is
53 kg. 2 6423
b The median mass is 2.2 kg. 3 6
4 89
5 03
Problem-solving
16 The level of mercury in 40 different water samples was tested and recorded in the following
stem-and-leaf plot:
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a What is the highest reading? Stem Leaf
b Find the 8th lowest reading. 9 3333678899
c How many readings of 100 or higher 10 00334455679
were recorded? 11 234456899
d The level of mercury is deemed to be
12 0111223567
safe if the reading is 103 or lower. What
fraction of the readings are safe?
e Represent the stem-and-leaf plot as a Key 11∣2 = 112 units
split stem-and-leaf plot. Make an
observation about the shape, centre, or
spread of the split stem-and-leaf plot.
.
17 The size of each earthquake that occurred over a three year period, measured from 0 to 9.9,
is recorded in a stem-and-leaf plot.
a What was the size of the largest
Stem Leaf
earthquake measured?
0 8
b An earthquake of size 6 or greater
causes significant damage to buildings. 1 1334559
What percentage of the earthquakes 2 257755
caused significant damage to buildings?
3 88
Round to the nearest whole percent.
4 01122466
5 12689
6 02449
7 189
8 0457
Key 1∣2 = 1.2 units
18 A cyclist measured his heart rate immediately after finishing each event in which he
competed. The results are recorded in the following stem-and-leaf plot:
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a Calculate the difference between his Stem Leaf
slowest and fastest heart rate. 16 1444688
b Calculate the mean heat rate of the 17 00468
cyclist, to the nearest whole number.
18 0233
c Find the median heart rate.
19 1234778
d Find the modal heart rate.
e For each extra heartbeat per minute, it
takes 7 seconds longer for him to Key 16∣1 = 161 beats per minute
recover.
How much longer would it take to
recover when he finishes with the
fastest heart rate, compared to when he
finishes with the slowest heart rate?
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