Stem-and-Leaf Diagram

Updated 01 Oct 2026

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What it is
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  a diagram that displays sorted numeric data by splitting each value into a "stem" (leading digit(s)) and a "leaf" (the remaining trailing digit), preserving the actual data values while still showing their distribution shape
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Construction
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  choose and state the place-value convention
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  list stems in order and sort leaves within each stem
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  include a key such as 12 | 3 = 123
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Advantage
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  displays distribution shape whil retaining individual values at the stated precision
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Caution
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  it becomes cumbersome for large datasets or values spanning many stems
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Variants
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  a back-to-back stem-and-leaf diagram compares two distributions using common stems, with one group on each side.
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  keep the scale/key identical and arrange leaves consistently outward from each stem.
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Interpretation
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  retains individual observations whil revealing distribution shape, unlike a histogram that retains only interval counts
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Related
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  Box Plot
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  Frequency Distribution

Linked references 3