How to interpret a stem-and-leaf plot?

A stem-and-leaf plot is a visual representation of data that shows the distribution of values.

To interpret a stem-and-leaf plot, first identify the stem, which is the leftmost digit(s) of each value. The leaves are the rightmost digit(s) of each value. For example, in the stem-and-leaf plot below:

2 | 3 5 6
3 | 0 2 4 5 7
4 | 1 3 6 8
5 | 0 2 4 6 9

The stem is the first digit of each value, and the leaves are the second digit. So, for example, the value 23 would be represented as a 2 in the stem column and a 3 in the leaf column.

To find the median of the data, locate the middle value(s) in the plot. If there is an odd number of values, the median is the middle value. If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values.

To find the range of the data, subtract the smallest value from the largest value.

To find the quartiles of the data, divide the data into four equal parts. The first quartile (Q1) is the median of the lower half of the data, the second quartile (Q2) is the median of the entire data set, and the third quartile (Q3) is the median of the upper half of the data.

Overall, a stem-and-leaf plot is a useful tool for quickly visualizing the distribution of data and identifying key statistics.