Year 7 - Dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots - Free practice

Year 7 Dot Plots and Stem-and-Leaf Plots Worksheets & Practice

Read, draw and compare data displays. Worked solutions every time, free.

Quick answer

What are dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots?

Dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots are ways to display numerical data. A dot plot places one dot above a number line for each data value. A stem-and-leaf plot splits each value into a stem (leading digit/s) and a leaf (last digit), keeping the actual values while showing the distribution's shape, spread and centre.

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Worked examples

Year 7 dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots: worked examples

Three examples, from a standard question to a worded problem. Have a go at each one before you open the solution.

Example 1 · Reading a dot plot
A dot plot shows the number of books read by 10 students during the school holidays. The values are: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6. Find the median number of books read.
Show worked solution
Key idea: The median is the middle value when data is ordered. For an even number of values, average the two middle values.
1. Write the 10 values in order: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6
2. With 10 values, the median is the average of the 5th and 6th values.
3. The 5th value is $2$ and the 6th value is $3$ .
4. $\text{Median} = \frac{2 + 3}{2} = \frac{5}{2} = 2.5$ Answer: The median is $2.5$ books.
Example 2 · Reading a stem-and-leaf plot
A stem-and-leaf plot displays the ages of 12 people at a community event.

Stem Leaves
1 4 5 7 8
2 0 3 3 6
3 1 2 5 9

The stem represents tens and the leaves represent ones. Find the range and the median age.
Show worked solution
Key idea: Read each data value by combining its stem and leaf. The range is the difference between the maximum and minimum values. The median is the average of the two middle values when there are an even number of data values.
1. List all 12 values in order: 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 23, 26, 31, 32, 35, 39
2. Range: $39 - 14 = 25$
3. With 12 values, the median is the average of the 6th and 7th values.
4. The 6th value is $23$ and the 7th value is $23$ .
5. $\text{Median} = \frac{23 + 23}{2} = 23$ Answer: The range is $25$ and the median age is $23$ years.
Example 3 · Comparing two groups using a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot
A PE teacher records the distances (in metres) thrown in a softball event by students in two classes.

Class A Stem Class B
8 5 2 1 3 6 9
9 7 4 1 2 0 2 5 8
6 3 3 1 4

Leaves for Class A are read right to left. The stem represents tens. Find the median distance for each class, then write one sentence comparing the two classes.
Show worked solution
Key idea: In a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot, read each side separately. List values in order to find each median.
1. Class A values in order: 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 29, 33, 36, that is 9 values, so the median is the 5th value.
2. Class A median: $24$ m
3. Class B values in order: 13, 16, 19, 20, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, that is 9 values, so the median is the 5th value.
4. Class B median: $22$ m
5. Both distributions are roughly similar in spread, but Class A has a higher median ( $24$ m compared to $22$ m), so Class A students typically threw further. Answer: Class A median $= 24$ m; Class B median $= 22$ m. Class A students typically threw further.

Stem	Leaves
1	4 5 7 8
2	0 3 3 6
3	1 2 5 9

Class A	Stem	Class B
8 5 2	1	3 6 9
9 7 4 1	2	0 2 5 8
6 3	3	1 4

Common mistakes

Where students usually lose marks

Forgetting to order the data before finding the median

Data: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, student picks the middle value as 4 because it is in the middle of the list as written.

Always sort the data from smallest to largest first. The median of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is correctly $3$ , the middle value.

Reading a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot in the wrong direction

For the left side of a back-to-back plot, a student reads the leaf 8 on stem 2 as 28 but writes it as 82.

On the left side, leaves are read from the stem outward (right to left), but you still combine the stem and leaf in the normal order: stem first, then leaf. So stem 2, leaf 8 is always 28.

Miscounting dots on a dot plot

A student counts the column with dots at 3, 3, 3 as two dots instead of three, giving a wrong total frequency.

Count each dot individually and keep a tally. Double-check that your total number of dots equals the number of data values you were told about.

Using the wrong middle value for an even-sized data set

For 8 values, a student picks only the 4th value as the median instead of averaging the 4th and 5th values.

When the data set has an even number of values, the median is the mean of the two middle values. For $n = 8$ , average the 4th and 5th values.

Try one yourself

Your turn

The ages of players in a basketball squad are listed below.

$14, 15, 13, 16, 14, 15, 15, 14, 13, 16, 15, 14$

A stem-and-leaf plot is drawn with stems 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 (using tens and units). What is the median age of the squad?

Got a different dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots question wrong? Upload it to Tuterly and get the worked solution and a fresh one to practise, free.

About this worksheet

Why we built it

Dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots are two of the first displays Year 7 students use to organise and compare real numerical data. These worksheets guide students through drawing each type of display from a raw data set, then describing what the shape of the data tells them, with worked solutions for every question so they can check their reasoning at each step.

What's covered

Sub-skills your student will practise

✓Reading and interpreting dot plots
✓Drawing dot plots from a list of numerical data
✓Organising data into a stem-and-leaf plot
✓Reading back-to-back stem-and-leaf plots
✓Describing the shape, spread and centre of a distribution
✓Comparing two distributions using dot plots or stem-and-leaf plots

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Parents on the practice questions.

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Rebecca M.

Year 8 · Maths

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Year 9 · Maths

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Ella, student

Year 10 · Maths

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Frequently asked

Questions parents ask about dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots

What is the difference between a dot plot and a stem-and-leaf plot?

A dot plot places one dot above a number line for each data value, making it easy to see clusters and gaps. A stem-and-leaf plot splits each value into a stem (the leading digit) and a leaf (the last digit), so you keep the exact values while still seeing the shape of the data.

How do you draw a stem-and-leaf plot in Year 7?

List the tens digits (or hundreds, depending on your data) in order down the middle as the stems. Then write each units digit on the correct row as a leaf. Leaves are usually written in order from smallest to largest, and you always include a key showing what one entry means.

What does 'describing a distribution' mean at Year 7?

It means commenting on the shape (is it spread out or bunched up?), the centre (where most values sit) and any outliers (values that stand apart from the rest). At Year 7 this is mostly done in plain language rather than with formal statistics.

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