Stem and Leaf Diagrams




In a stem and leaf diagram we write an ordered list of numbers with the digits of number split up. Usually we split the tens (which become the stems) and the ones (which become the leaves).


Here are the times, in seconds, it took 15 students to complete a task.

45  24  37  47  49
39  36  26  38  23
40  30  31  29  23

When we draw a stem and leaf diagram for this data the tens will become the stems and the ones will become the leaves.

A 2 in the stem will represent 20, 3 will represent 30 and 4 will represent 40.

We now write all of the ones in order.

We can start with all the numbers with a zero in the ones:
For 30 we will write a 0 on the same line as the 3 stem.
For 40 we write a 0 on the same line as the 4 stem.

Next we can write all the numbers with a 1 in the ones, and then 2, and then 3...

We alway include a key to show how we have split the numbers.


Try these:

Here are the heights, in metres, of 15 buildings:
60  38  53  59  67
33  57  44  58  42
53  54  47  44  49
Draw an ordered stem and leaf diagram for this information.


Here are the weights, in grams, of 15 objects:
6.2  5.4  5.3  4.8  6.8
7.5  4.3  5.6  5.7  4.5
5.0  5.9  7.0  6.4  4.9
Draw an ordered stem and leaf diagram for this information.