Defining a Line Plot
A line plot is a type of graph that displays the frequency of data along a number line. It uses dots, X's, or other marks placed above each numerical value to show how many times that value appears in the data set. It is a simple way to organize and visualize small sets of data.
Section 2: Key Components of a Line Plot
A line plot consists of three main components. First is the horizontal number line, which is scaled to include all the values present in the data. Second are the marks (often X's or dots) placed above the number line, with each mark representing one occurrence of that value. Finally, a clear title is included to explain what the data represents.
Section 3: A Practical Example
Imagine a class of students records the number of pets they have. The data collected is: 1, 2, 0, 1, 1, 3, 2, 0, 1, 4. To create a line plot, you would draw a number line from 0 to 4. You would then place two X's above the number 0, four X's above 1, two X's above 2, one X above 3, and one X above 4.
Section 4: Importance and Applications
Line plots are important because they provide a quick visual summary of a data set's distribution. They make it easy to identify the mode (the most frequent value), see clusters or gaps in the data, and spot any outliers (values that are far from the others). They are commonly used in elementary statistics to introduce data representation.