Data Handling • Topic 3 of 8

Tables

A table arranges data into rows and columns so a lot of information sits neatly in a small space. Knowing the parts is half the battle, because CTET asks about them directly: the title says what the data is about (“Favourite Fruits of Class 2A”); the column headings sit at the top and name each column; the row labels run down the left and name each category; a cell is the box where a particular row and column meet and holds one value. Primary children meet several kinds of table, a simple listing table, a frequency distribution table (category, tally, number), a comparative table (say boys and girls side by side), and familiar ones like a calendar or a multiplication table. To build a table from raw data you list the distinct categories, decide the rows and columns, draw a neat framework, write clear headings, go through the data marking a tally for each item, count the tallies into frequencies, and add a title. Reading a table is where the marks usually are: locate a cell value, add the frequencies to find the total, compare two categories, find how many more one has than another (subtract), spot the category with the highest count (the mode), or order the categories. Good teaching builds the language explicitly, row, column, cell, heading, title, and always follows construction with the question “what does this table tell us?” so children read for meaning, not just neatness.

✅ Solved examples

1. In a table, the box where a particular row meets a particular column, holding a single data value, is called the:
A cell. The title describes the table, column headings label the columns, row labels name the categories, and each cell holds one value.
2. A table shows: Apple 12, Banana 9, Mango 15, Grapes 6. How many more children like Mango than Grapes?
15 - 6 = 9. Nine more children like Mango than Grapes (a simple comparison-by-subtraction question).
3. Using the same table (Apple 12, Banana 9, Mango 15, Grapes 6), the total number of children surveyed is:
12 + 9 + 15 + 6 = 42 children. The total is found by adding all the frequencies in the table.
4. From that table, the most liked fruit (the category with the highest frequency, the mode) is:
Mango, with 15 — the largest frequency in the table.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. The labels written across the top of a table, naming what each column holds, are called the:
Sit at the top, one per column.
Not the title, not the rows.
Column headings
2. A table records Dog 8, Cat 5, Fish 7, Rabbit 4. The total number of pets is:
Add every frequency.
8 + 5 + 7 + 4.
24
3. In the same table (Dog 8, Cat 5, Fish 7, Rabbit 4), how many more children chose Dog than Cat?
Subtract the two values.
8 - 5.
3
4. The short heading at the very top that tells you what the whole table is about is the:
Not a column or row label.
Names the entire table.
Title

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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