statistics · Year 6 · Suggested learning sequence
Dot plots
A dot plot puts a dot above a number line for each result. The number under a stack is the value; the number of dots is how many times it happened. The mode is the value with the tallest stack. 'More than 2' leaves out the dots above 2. The range is the largest value with a dot take away the smallest value with a dot. For the median, count the dots from the left to the middle one and read its value.
Sample questions
The dot plot shows how many books each person read in the holidays. Each dot is one person. How many people read exactly 5 books?
- Find 5 on the number line.
- Count the dots above it: 1.
- There is 1 dot, so the answer is 1.
Answer: 1
The dot plot shows how many books each person read in the holidays. Each dot is one person. How many people read exactly 7 books?
- Find 7 on the number line.
- Count the dots above it: 1, 2, 3, 4.
- There are 4 dots, so the answer is 4.
Answer: 4
The dot plot shows how many books each person read in the holidays. Each dot is one person. How many people read exactly 3 books?
- Find 3 on the number line.
- Count the dots above it: 1, 2, 3, 4.
- There are 4 dots, so the answer is 4.
Answer: 4