Stem-and-Leaf Plots

A stem-and-leaf plot is a display of data that uses the digits of the data values. To make a stem-and-leaf plot, separate each number into a stem and a leaf. A stem and leaf for the number 2.39 is shown below.

You can use a stem-and-leaf plot to organize data. The data below describe the price for the same notebook at several stores.

Notebook Prices: $2.39 $2.47 $2.43 $2.21 $2.33 $2.28 $2.26

Use the first two digits for the “stems.”

Use the corresponding last digits for the “leaves.” Arrange the numbers in order.

You can use a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot to display two related data sets. The stems are between two vertical bars, and the leaves are on each side. Leaves are in increasing order from the stems. In the back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot below, 3|4|1 represents a commute time of 43 min in Town A and a commute time of 41 min in Town B.

Image Long Description

Exercises

Make a stem-and-leaf plot for each set of data.

1. 18 35 28 15 36 10 25 22 15
2. 18.6 18.4 17.6 15.7 15.3 17.5
3. 785 776 788 761 768 768 785
4. 0.8 0.2 1.4 3.5 4.3 4.5 2.6 2.2

5. Make a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot of the test scores of the two classes below.

   Class A: 98 78 85 72 94 81 68 83

   Class B: 87 91 79 75 90 81 82 100

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