Two-Way Tables Statistics Example 1

Follow the full solution, then compare it with the other examples linked below.

Example 1

easy
A survey of 60 students recorded their gender and whether they prefer cats or dogs. Boys who prefer cats: 8, boys who prefer dogs: 17, girls who prefer cats: 15, girls who prefer dogs: 20. Organise this into a two-way table with row and column totals.

Solution

  1. 1
    Step 1: Set up the table with rows (Boys, Girls, Total) and columns (Cats, Dogs, Total).
  2. 2
    Step 2: Fill in the given values: Boys-Cats=8, Boys-Dogs=17, Girls-Cats=15, Girls-Dogs=20.
  3. 3
    Step 3: Calculate totals. Row totals: Boys=8+17=25, Girls=15+20=35. Column totals: Cats=8+15=23, Dogs=17+20=37. Grand total: 25+35=60 (or 23+37=60). ✓

Answer

Two-way table: Boys (Cats:8, Dogs:17, Total:25), Girls (Cats:15, Dogs:20, Total:35), Total (Cats:23, Dogs:37, Grand:60).
A two-way table (contingency table) organises data by two categorical variables. Row and column totals (marginal frequencies) show the distribution of each variable separately, while the inner cells show the joint frequencies.

About Two-Way Tables

A two-way table (contingency table) displays the frequency of data categorized by two different categorical variables simultaneously, with one variable in rows and the other in columns, allowing comparison of distributions across groups.

Learn more about Two-Way Tables →

More Two-Way Tables Examples

Example 2 medium

From the two-way table: Passed exam — studied (40), didn't study (10); Failed exam — studied (5), di

Example 3 medium

A two-way table shows transport to school: Walk (Year 7: 30, Year 8: 20), Bus (Year 7: 15, Year 8: 2

Example 4 hard

A two-way table shows exercise frequency and health rating for 200 adults: Exercise regularly — Good

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