How many letters are in your first name?

A Grade 2 student surveyed 20 classmates to find out how many letters are in their first name. They graphed the results in the line plot below.

Explore the line plot. What do you notice? Share as much as you can about the data.

Press ‘Line plot’ to reveal what a line plot is.

Line plot

Throughout the learning activity, you can record your thoughts digitally, orally, or in print.

Communicating about data

Graphs and tables are often used to display data in a clear and easy-to-understand way.

For example, line plots and bar graphs can help to ask and answer questions like, “Which number of letters appears the greatest number of times?” This is called the mode.

The mode is the most common number or category in a data set.

For example, let’s consider the data set: 1, 6, 7, 6, 3, 6. Which number appears the most? That would be the mode.

Press ‘Hint’ to check your answer.

Hint

Let’s return to the line plot we explored in the Minds On and determine the mode.

To review, the line plot below shows the total number of letters in the first names of 20 students. We find out it is 20 students because there are 20 Xs on the line plot.

Which number of letters appears the most?

The line plot shows one X on the number 10. There are no Xs on the numbers 11 or 12. This means that 10 is largest number of letters.

How do we determine the mode?

Let’s use what we know and the data from the line plot.

Here’s what we know:

• The mode is the category or number that appears the most or has the greatest count in a set of data.
• The 8 Xs above 6 mean that 8 students have a first name with 6 letters.

Here’s what the line plot tells us:

The line plot shows that the number of letters with the most Xs is 6. The mode is 6 because the number of letters that has the most Xs is 6.

Let’s practice finding the mode in a different set of data!

Balloon-powered cars

Explore the line plot below.

Twenty students each created balloon-powered cars and tested them to see how far they could travel. They measured the distance the car travelled with a ruler and displayed the data in a line plot.

If possible, work with a partner to consider the following question:

• What does the mode tell you?

Record your thoughts using a method of your choice.

Part 1: Favourite frozen yogurt and cone

Part 2: Favourite frozen yogurt and cone

Use the data in the tally table to create a line plot.

Keep in mind that a line plot needs:

• A title
• A number line that is labelled and has values in different categories
• X’s to mark the number of each value

You can create your line plot using paper, a computer, concrete materials, or any other method of your choice.

Once you’re done, click ‘Check Answer’ to compare the line plot to the one you created.

Check Answer

Reflection

Use the following questions to reflect on your learning. You can record your responses using a method of your choice.

• Is it easier to find the mode in a tally table or a line plot?
• Why is it useful to find the mode in a data set?

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.