13.2 Probability Distributions and Frequency Tables

Suppose a researcher wished to do a study on the number of miles that the employees of a large corporation traveled to work each day. When the data is collected in its original form they are called raw data.

Because little can be obtained from this data we will organize it into a frequency distribution A frequency distribution is the organization of raw data in table form, using classes and frequencies.

Frequency Table A data display that shows how often an item appears in a category. Relative Frequency – the ratio of the frequency of the category to the total frequency.

Can be expressed in a frequency table Probability Distribution – shows the probability of each possible outcome. Can be expressed in a frequency table (in a stats class you would learn the process for developing/constructing a frequency table…there are a series of rules to use on how to divide your categories and how to place limits on your categories)

Bull’s eye hit 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frequency Probability Distribution