# Handling data · Year 5

> Handling data, Year 5: Frequency tables and the mode and more. Explanation, worked examples and free practice for the national curriculum in England.

In Handling data (Year 5) you practise 2 skills: Frequency tables and the mode · Reading charts.

A frequency table shows how many times each answer came up. Each row counts some of the answers, and all the rows added together make the number of answers. When one number is missing and the total is known, take all the numbers you know away from the total.

The mode is the answer that comes up most often. In a frequency table it is the answer with the largest number beside it. In a bar chart it is the tallest bar.

On a chart or a pictogram you read the numbers from the scale or from the key. In a pictogram where each picture stands for 5, three pictures stand for 15. To answer a question, first read the numbers, and only then work it out: five children each walked 60 metres, and a child who took 40 steps covers 1.5 metres with each step, because 60 ÷ 40 = 1.5.

The relative frequency is the fraction of all the answers: the number of times an answer came up, out of the number of all the answers. If 5 out of 20 pupils chose banana, the relative frequency of banana is 5/20, which is 1/4.

**Tip:** Before you answer, read the title, the scale and the key: they tell you what is being counted and in what steps.

## What you learn

### Frequency tables and the mode

- Example: Ten children said how many brothers and sisters they have. These are the answers: 3, 1, 2, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 3, 1 How many times does the number 1 appear in the list?
- Answer: 5
- Solution: These are all the times 1 appears: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 The number 1 appears 5 times.

### Reading charts

- Example: The children in the neighbourhood chose a sports club. (A bar chart: Football, Basketball, Swimming, Running, Tennis. The lines on the scale go up in steps of 2.) How many children chose football?
- Answer: 10
- Solution: The bar for Football reaches 10. The lines on the scale go up in steps of 2.

The exercises are made by rules and the answers are worked out in code. The topic follows the national curriculum in England: mathematics (key stages 3 and 4).

[Practise on the site](https://kixplo.com/uk/en/) · [All Year 5 topics](https://kixplo.com/uk/en/maths/year-5/)