The cumulative frequency gives us the number of observations lying below or above a particular value of a variable. Cumulative frequencies are of two types : a) Less than type, b) more than type.
- Less than type: We calculate the number of observations lying below each value of the variable. As the values increase we keep on adding the corresponding frequencies to get the cumulative frequency.
Example 1: The weights of 36 pumpkins from a vegetable market are recorded and presented as a frequency distribution table :
The table shows that there are 6 pumpkins weighing 4 kg, but there are 30 pumpkins weighing 4kg or less. Similarly there are 35 pumpkins having weight not more than 6kg.
This can be represented graphically as in figure 1.
Figure 1
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