How Do I Create a Polygon Frequency Graph Using Excel?

Microsoft Excel is spreadsheet software that can help you create a variety of charts from existing data. One of these chart types is a frequency polygon. A frequency polygon is a type of Microsoft Excel line chart that plots midpoints (the middle points of line segments) and frequencies (how often an item occurs) on a line chart. The midpoints are graphed on the horizontal (x-axis) and the frequencies are plotted on the vertical (y-axis). When the points are connected, they form a line. When the line is combined with the x-axis, it forms a polygon (a shape made up from straight line segments).

Things You'll Need

• Excel worksheet with frequency and midpoint data

Instructions

1. Highlight the frequency data in the worksheet. For example, if your data is in cells A2 to A10, highlight these cells by left-clicking in A2 and dragging the cursor down over the cells.

2. Click on the "Chart Wizard" and choose "Line > Line With Markers." Click "Next."

3. Click on the "Series" tab.

4. Click on "Category (X) axis labels" and then click the red mark.

5. Highlight the cells containing your midpoints. For example, if your midpoints are in cells B2 to B10, highlight cells B2 to B10.

6. Click the red marker again to return to the Chart Wizard, and then click Next. This will create the polygon frequency graph.

Tips & Warnings

• Frequency polygons can only be created for data that includes midpoints and frequencies. If you have any other type(s) of data, choose a different chart type.

• Enter the chart title, x-axis label, and y-axis label from the "Titles" tab.

• To remove the legend, select the "Legend" tab and uncheck the "Show Legend" box.

References

• San Jose State University: Excel Charts