Stem and Leaf Diagrams

Stem-and-leaf diagrams are a method for organizing and displaying numerical data. They allow you to visualize the shape of a data set while preserving the original values. The data is split into two parts: the stem (usually the first digits) and the leaf (the last digit).

How to draw a stem and leaf diagram

For the data set \(32,35,41,46,47,52,53\), a stem-and-leaf diagram would be:
3 | 2, 5
4 | 1, 6, 7
5 | 2, 3

Here, the stems \(3, 4, 5\) represent the tens place and the leaves \(2, 5, 1, 6, ...\) represent the units.

Advantages of a stem and leaf diagram

Stem and leaf diagrams provide a quick visual representation of the data and gives a clear view of the distribution of the data. They also preserves original data, unlike histograms or bar charts, meaning that you can see the actual values.

Stem-and-leaf diagrams are especially useful for small data sets and are a simple way to organize data while maintaining its numerical integrity.