lesson
Updated 6 days ago · 2 views
Imagine your gym teacher calls out fifteen basketball drill scores in random order: 48, 23, 35, 41, 29, 52, and so on. How quickly can you spot the highest score, the lowest score, or where most players landed?
A stem-and-leaf plot organizes all those numbers in order from least to greatest while keeping every single original score visible on the page.
The Anatomy of a Stem-and-Leaf Plot
Every number splits into two parts: the stem on the left (the tens digit or higher) and the leaf on the right (always the single ones digit).
📊Create an interactive or animated breakdown of a stem-and-leaf plot. Display the number 47 splitting apart: '4' moves to the Stem column and '7' moves to the Leaf column. Below that, show a clean T-chart with 'Stem' on the left and 'Leaf' on the right, separated by a solid vertical line. Underneath the chart, prominently display a Key card: '4 | 7 = 47 points'. Use #1e2945 for text, clean white card backgrounds (#ffffff), soft light-gray canvas (#f8f9fa), blue accents (#22b7ff), and rounded borders. Ensure responsive scaling down to 350px.
Every plot must include a key (or legend) so anyone reading it knows whether 4∣7 means 47, 4.7, or 470.
How do you build one of these plots from a raw, messy list of numbers?
Building a Plot Step by Step
Let's organize these eight bowling scores: 42, 55, 38, 42, 61, 35, 47, and 50.
First, write the data in order from least to greatest: 35, 38, 42, 42, 47, 50, 55, 61. Then, write the stems vertically from smallest to largest: 3, 4, 5, and 6.
📊Create a step-by-step visual showing how raw data becomes a finished stem-and-leaf plot. Top row: Raw data [42, 55, 38, 42, 61, 35, 47, 50] sorting into Ordered data [35, 38, 42, 42, 47, 50, 55, 61]. Middle: A T-chart showing stems 3, 4, 5, 6 on the left. Animated or clearly marked arrows place leaves on the right: next to 3 are '5 8', next to 4 are '2 2 7', next to 5 are '0 5', and next to 6 is '1'. Bottom: A clearly boxed Key showing '3 | 5 = 35'. Evenly spaced leaf columns with grid alignment guides. Palette: #1e2945 text, blue accent #22b7ff, light borders #e6e6e6, responsive layout.
Keep each leaf digit evenly spaced so longer rows immediately show where the highest concentration of scores lies.
What happens if two people earn the exact same score, or if nobody scores in a certain range?