Tables

​​In a nutshell

Tables are a collection of data arranged in columns and rows. They make information much quicker to read than if it were in a long list by using headings.

Interpreting tables

To interpret information from a table, it's important to look at the headings. Pick the headings you are interested in and read across and down.

Example 1

This table shows some of Grace and Tom's favourite things.

$$\begin{array}{c|c|c}&\text{Tom}&\underline{\text{Grace}}\\ \hline\text{Favourite colour}&\text{Green}&\text{Blue}\\ \hline\underline{\text{Favourite country}}&\text{France}&\underline{\text{England}}\\ \hline\text{Favourite game}&\text{Hide and Seek}&\text{Tig}\\ \hline\text{Favourite food}&\text{Icecream}&\text{Pancakes} \end{array}$$​​

By reading across and down from the headings 'Grace' and 'favourite country', you can see that Grace's favourite country is England.

Frequency Tables

A common type of table used is a frequency table - these tables show how many of something there is. You will often see tally marks used as a way to count and record frequencies and these can be shown on a frequency table like so:

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​$$\begin{array}{c|c|c}&\text{Tally}&\text{Total}\\ \hline\text{Sarah}&||&2 \\ \hline\text{Chris}& |||&3\\ \hline\text{Steve}&|&1\\ \hline\text{David}&\cancel{|||||}\space\space|||&8\\ \hline\text{Ben}&&0\end{array}$$​​

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Note: When writing tally marks, every 5th tally is drawn as a gate across the previous 4 marks. See Katie's tally in the chart above for an example!