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.

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.

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.


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.