Step by step
The question
Question: make a stem-and-leaf plot of 18, 23, 35, 27, 19, 31, 24, 28 and 22.
Find the range.
1 Split the numbers
The tens digit is the stem.
The ones digit is the leaf.
18: stem 1, leaf 8.
Careful!
Every plot needs a key.
1, line, 8 means 18, not 9.
2 Write the leaves
The stems go down the side: 1, 2 and 3.
18: leaf 8 goes after stem 1.
We cross out 18.
23: leaf 3 after stem 2.
And so on, in the order they come.
3 Put the leaves in order
Now we write the plot again, with each row of leaves in order, smallest first.
Stem 1: 8 and 9.
And the key: 1, line, 8 means 18.
4 Read the plot
The smallest is the first leaf on the top row: 18.
The biggest is the last leaf on the bottom row: 35.
The range is the biggest minus the smallest.
35 minus 18 is 17.
5 Check
Let's check: the plot has 9 leaves, one for each of the 9 numbers.
So none is lost!
Let's look back.
First: split the numbers.
Then: write the leaves.
Then: put the leaves in order.
Then: read the plot.
Last: check.