Step by step
The question
Question: make a stem-and-leaf plot of 20, 35, 22, 41, 30, 27, 38, 25, 44 and 33.
Find the range.
1 Split the numbers
The tens digit is the stem.
The ones digit is the leaf.
20: stem 2, leaf 0.
Careful!
Every plot needs a key.
2, line, 0 means 20, not 2.
2 Write the leaves
The stems go down the side: 2, 3 and 4.
20: leaf 0 goes after stem 2.
We cross out 20.
35: leaf 5 after stem 3.
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 2: 0, 2, 5 and 7.
And the key: 2, line, 0 means 20.
4 Read the plot
The smallest is the first leaf on the top row: 20.
The biggest is the last leaf on the bottom row: 44.
The range is the biggest minus the smallest.
44 minus 20 is 24.
5 Check
Let's check: the plot has 10 leaves, one for each of the 10 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.