Counting into a table

In your book, Maths Mela (Chapter 14, Data Handling), Anjali and Rohan write down the 45 children's answers to 'Which subject do you like the most?' To save time they use short codes: M for Mathematics, L for Languages, T for The World Around Us, A for Arts and P.E. for Physical Education.

Their record is one long list of 45 codes. It starts like this: T, A, P.E., A, M, P.E., L, L, P.E., A … From such a long list it is hard to see which subject is liked most.

So they count each code and put the counts in a table. Physical Education: 11 children. Mathematics: 10. Arts: 9. Languages: 8. The World Around Us: 7. Check: 11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 = 45, one for every child.

Now it is easy to read. The most common favourite subject is Physical Education (11), and the least common is The World Around Us (7). A table of counts is much easier to understand than the long list.