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Creating a stem-and-leaf plot in Excel is a simple process. First, enter the data into a column. Then, select the data and click Insert, and then click the “Scatter” chart type. On the right side of the chart, click the “Axes” tab and select the “Secondary Vertical” option. This will display the stem-and-leaf plot. Finally, click the “Data Labels” tab and select the “Show” check box to display the data labels. This will complete the stem-and-leaf plot in Excel.
A stem-and-leaf plot is a chart we can use to display data by splitting up each value in a dataset into a stem and a leaf.
Here is an example of a stem-and-leaf plot for a given dataset, created by the :
The stem for each value is simply the first digit of the value while the leaf is the second digit of the value.
Now let’s find out how to create a stem-and-leaf plot in Excel.
Example: Stem-and-Leaf Plot in Excel
Use the following steps to create a stem-and-leaf plot in Excel.
Step 1: Enter the data.
Enter the data values in a single column:
Step 2: Identify the minimum and maximum values.
Step 3: Manually enter the “stems” based on the minimum and maximum values.
Step 4: Calculate the “leaves” for the first row.
The following calculation shows how to compute the leaves for the first row. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the formula – it’s actually very simple, just repetitive.
Step 5: Repeat the calculation for each row.
To repeat this calculation for each row, simply click on cell D7, hover over the bottom-right hand corner of the cell until a tiny + appears, then double-click. This will copy the formula to the rest of the rows in the Stem-and-Leaf plot:
To double check that your results are correct, you can verify three numbers:
- Make sure the number of individual “leaves” matches the number of observations. In our example, we have 10 total “leaves” which matches the 10 observations in our original dataset.
- Verify the minimum number. The very first leaf should match the minimum value in your dataset. In our example, we see that the first leaf is “4” and is paired with a stem of “1” which matches the minimum number of “14” in our dataset.
- Verify the maximum number. The very last leaf should match the maximum value in your dataset. In our example, we see that the last leaf is “5” and is paired with a stem of “3” which matches the minimum number of “35” in our dataset.
Once you verify these three numbers, you can be confident that your Stem-and-Leaf plot is correct.