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2.10: Dot Plots

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Learning Objectives

  • Create and interpret dot plots
  • Judge whether a dot plot would be appropriate for a given data set

Dot plots can be used to display various types of information. Figure 2.10.1 uses a dot plot to display the number of M & M's of each color found in a bag of M & M's. Each dot represents a single M & M. From the figure, you can see that there were 3 blue M & M's, 19 brown M & M's, etc.

dot_plot_bag_MMs.jpg
Figure 2.10.1: A dot plot showing the number of M & M's of various colors in a bag of M & M's

The dot plot in Figure 2.10.2 shows the number of people playing various card games on the Yahoo website on a Wednesday. Unlike Figure 2.10.1, the location rather than the number of dots represents the frequency.

dot_plot_wed_games.jpg
Figure 2.10.2: A dot plot showing the number of people playing various card games on a Wednesday

The dot plot in Figure 2.10.3 shows the number of people playing on a Sunday and on a Wednesday. This graph makes it easy to compare the popularity of the games separately for the two days, but does not make it easy to compare the popularity of a given game on the two days.

games_overlaya.jpg
Figure 2.10.3: A dot plot showing the number of people playing various card games on a Sunday and on a Wednesday
games_overlay.jpg
Figure 2.10.4: An alternate way of showing the number of people playing various card games on a Sunday and on a Wednesday

The dot plot in Figure 2.10.4 makes it easy to compare the days of the week for specific games while still portraying differences among games.


This page titled 2.10: Dot Plots is shared under a Public Domain license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by David Lane via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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