TI-83 Instructions

Histograms and Frequency Distributions

Enter data

1. Enter the data into a list, say L1.

Get the max and min

1. To find the minimum and maximum values, press STAT. Several menu titles appear. EDIT is highlighted.
2. Use the arrow key to select the CALC menu title. The CALC menu appears.
3. Item #1, 1-Var Stats, is already highlighted.
4. Press ENTER. The phrase 1-Var Stats appears in the window.
5. Press 2nd L1.
6. Press ENTER. A list of statistics appears for the data in list L1.
7. Use the arrow key to scroll down to the min and the max, labeled minX and maxX. Record them.

Set up the histogram plot

1. Press 2nd STAT PLOT (in the upper left corner). The STAT PLOTS menu appears.
2. Use the arrow keys, if necessary, to select one of the plots, say Plot1.
3. Press ENTER.
4. Use the left/right arrow keys, if necessary, to select On.
5. Press ENTER. This turns Plot1 on. (The other plots should be turned off.)
6. Press the down arrow once. This allows you to select the type of plot.
7. Use the left/right arrows to select the histogram type. (The icon looks like a little histogram.)
8. Press ENTER.
9. Press the down arrow once. This allows you to select the list containing the data.
10. Press 2nd L1.

Set up the window

1. Press WINDOW (on the top row of buttons).
2. Next to Xmin, enter the value of the lower limit of the first class. It must be less than or equal to the minimum value in the list.
3. Press the down arrow once.
4. Next to Xmax, enter a value greater than the maximum value in the list, but not much greater. (A safe choice is Xmax plus the class width.)
5. Press the down arrow.
6. Next to Xscl, enter the class width.
7. Press the down arrow.
8. Next to Ymin, enter 0.
9. Press the down arrow.
10. Next to Ymax, enter what you expect to be the largest frequency of all the classes. This value may be modified later, if necessary.

Draw the histogram

1. Press GRAPH (in the upper right corner). The histogram appears.

Frequency Distributions

1. Follow the instructions above to create a histogram of the data.
2. Press TRACE (on the top row of buttons). In the bottom left-hand corner appear the lower limits of the first and second classes. To the right of that appears the frequency of the first class.
3. Press the right arrow key once. Now we see the lower limits of the second and third class and the frequency of the second class.
4. Continue to press the right arrow to see the remaining classes and their frequencies.
5. You may use the left arrow to go back the other way. A blinking X shows you the current class.