Lesson 4.

4
Two-Way Frequency Tables
Concept: Representing and Interpreting Data

EQ: How do we represent and interpret data in two

variables? (Standard S.ID.5)

Vocabulary: Two-Way Frequency Table, Bivariate, Joint

Frequency, Marginal Frequency, Conditional Relative
Frequency
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SsWrY77o77o 1

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Guided Practice - Example 1
Say you own your own nail salon and you are looking at
some advertising options. You want to know which
gender and which service is the most popular so you
can target a particular audience. You look at your
records from the last month and you find the following:

58 females – manicure
77 females – pedicure
31 males – manicure
27 males – pedicure

How could you display this data? 2

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Introduction
Information about people who are surveyed can be
captured in two-way frequency tables. A two-way
frequency table is a table of data that compares two
variables (bivariate). It separates responses by a
characteristic of the respondents.
Gender
Nail Service
Females Males Total

Manicure 58 31 89

Pedicure 77 27 104

Total 135 58 193

3

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Vocabulary
A joint frequency is the number of responses for a
given characteristic.
• The entries in the cells of a two-way frequency
table are joint frequencies.
• In our table, 58, 77, 31, and 27 are each joint
frequencies.

Gender
Nail Service
Females Males Total
Manicure 58 31 89
Pedicure 77 27 104
Total 135 58 193
4

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Vocabulary
A marginal frequency is the total number of times
a response was given, or the total number of
respondents with a given characteristic.
• This is the sum of either a row or a column in a two-
way frequency table.
• In our table, 89, 104, 135, and 58 are all marginal
frequencies. Gender
Nail Service
Females Males Total
Manicure 58 31 89
Pedicure 77 27 104
Total 135 58 193
5

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

 Gender
Nail Service
Females Males Total
Manicure 58 31 89
Pedicure 77 27 104
Total 135 58 193

• Looking at our table, who and what service would you

target?
• Your answer probably involved the highest total
between the genders and the highest total between
the services, but is this really accurate?
• The only way to know for sure is to calculate the
conditional relative frequencies for each joint
frequency. 6

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Vocabulary
A conditional relative frequency expresses a number
of responses as a percentage of the total number of
responses.
• It allows a comparison to be made for multiple
responses in a single row, single column, or table.
• They are found by dividing the number of responses
by the total number of responses.
• Three conditional relative frequencies can be found for
each joint frequency (one for each characteristic and
one for the total people surveyed). In our table, you
can do it with respect to gender, to the service, or to
the total people surveyed.
7

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

 Conditional Relative Frequency
Conditional Gender
Nail Service
relative Females Males
frequency Manicure
with respect
to gender. Pedicure

Would you
Conditional Gender
Nail Service change
relative Females Males your mind
frequency Manicure about who
with respect and what
to nail service. Pedicure
service to
target?
Conditional Gender
relative Nail Service
Females Males
frequency
with respect Manicure
to all people. Pedicure
Guided Practice - Example 2
Abigail surveys students in different grades, and asks each
student which pet they prefer. Their responses are in the
table below.
Preferred pet
Grade
Bird Cat Dog Fish
9 3 49 53 22
10 7 36 64 10

1. How many 9th graders preferred fish?

2. What does the joint frequency 7 represent?
3. What is the joint frequency of 9th graders who preferred
cats?
4. Which pet was the most popular among all the students
9
surveyed?
4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables
 Guided Practice: Example 2, continued
5. Complete the marginal frequencies for each type of pet
and for each grade level. Which one is the smallest?
Preferred pet
Grade
Bird Cat Dog Fish Total
9 3 49 53 22
10 7 36 64 10
Total

6. How many students are represented in the survey?

7. What would the conditional relative frequency be for
9th graders who preferred cats (with respect to 9th graders)?
8. What would the conditional relative frequency be for fish
(with respect to everyone surveyed)? 10

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Guided Practice - Example 3
Deshaun surveyed the seniors at his high school to find
out who eats and doesn’t eat breakfast regularly. Their
responses are in the table below.
Gender
Breakfast habits
Male Female Totals
Eat Breakfast
190 110 300
regularly
Do not Eat Breakfast 130 165 295
regularly
Totals 320 275 595
1) How many females “eat breakfast regularly”? _____
This is a ____________ frequency
2) 275 is a _____________ frequency. It represents
_____________________________________________. 11

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

Guided Practice - Example 3 (continued)
Gender
Breakfast habits
Male Female Totals
Eat Breakfast 190 110 300
regularly
Do not Eat Breakfast 130 165 295
regularly
Totals were included
3) How many people 320 in this275
survey?595
______
4) Complete the table by calculating the conditional relative
frequencies with respect to gender.
5) What can you conclude about the breakfast habits of males
and females?

12

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

1. Looking at just the marginal You Try!
frequencies (row & column
totals) what can we conclude .
about the 3 activities?
A. Dance is way more
interesting.
B. They have roughly equal
appeal.
C. Sports is the least chosen
activity.
D. TV is the preferred activity.
2. Looking at the joint frequencies we see that women show a
strong preference for which activity?

3. What are the conditional relative frequencies (for both gender

and hobby) for men who showed a preference for Sports?
13

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

 Message to Absent Student

Suppose a friend of yours in this class was absent

today and missed this lesson…
They send you a text message later asking you what
they missed and how do they do the homework.
Write or text me your response to them.
*If texting use this #37607 and I’ll give you the
code#.

14

4.2.1: Summarizing Data Using Two-Way Frequency Tables

 Message to Absent Student

Suppose a friend of yours in this class was absent today and

missed this lesson…
They send you a text message later asking you what they missed
and how do they do the homework.
Write or text me your response to them.
*If texting use this #37607 and I’ll give you the code#.