Frequency

Definition

Frequency is the number of times a particular value or category occurs in a dataset. It is often used to summarize data distributions.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Frequency distributions are tables that display the frequency of various outcomes in a sample.
2. Relative frequency is the fraction or proportion of times an outcome occurs relative to the total number of observations.
3. Cumulative frequency is the sum of frequencies for all values up to a certain point in a dataset.
4. Histograms and bar charts are common graphical representations used to display frequency distributions.
5. In descriptive statistics, understanding frequency can help identify patterns, trends, and potential outliers in data.

Review Questions

• What is the difference between absolute frequency and relative frequency?
• How do you construct a cumulative frequency distribution from a given set of data?
• Which types of charts are commonly used to represent frequency distributions?

Related terms

Relative Frequency:

The proportion or percentage of occurrences of each value relative to the total number of observations.

Cumulative Frequency:

The running total of frequencies through the classes in ascending order.

Histogram:

A type of bar chart that represents the frequency distribution of a dataset.