A relative frequency is a count read as a share of a total, written as a percent. These free printable worksheets take it from a two-way table — of the ones in this row, what percent are in that column.
The whole skill is choosing the denominator. “Of the 25 who walk to school, how many bike on weekends” divides by 25 — the row total — not by the grand total of everyone. Divide by the wrong whole and the answer is a true statement about a different question: plausible, unmarked by anything, and the single most common error on the topic.
Why this sheet works
A relative frequency is a division, and most divisions are not tidy, so the row and column totals are drawn from the ones that divide a hundred evenly. Every percent here comes out whole — a sheet asking for 34.7% would be teaching rounding instead — and the answer is the division carried through and multiplied by 100, not the division on its own.
How this one works
One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.
Of the 25 Team A players, what percent won?
WonLostTotalTeam A101525Team B22931Total322456
10out of25
10 ÷ 25=0.4→40%
Of the 25 Team A players, what percent won40%
"Of the 25 Team A players" — that is the row, and it is the only part of the table this question is about. The other row is not being asked about at all, and neither is the 56 at the bottom.
Now the part. Of that row, 10 won — the Won column. So the fraction is 10 out of 25, not 10 out of 56.
Divide: 10 ÷ 25 = 0.4. A percent is "out of a hundred", so multiply by 100: 40%.
So the answer is 40% — 10 of the 25 Team A players, and 10 ÷ 25 = 0.4, which is 40%. Had you divided by the 56 instead, you would have answered a different question: what percent of EVERYONE, rather than of that row.
Read each table, then answer the question under it. Write a whole percent.
1
Won
Lost
Total
Team A
10
15
25
Team B
22
9
31
Total
32
24
56
Of the 25 Team A players, what percent won?
%
2
Renewed
Returned
Total
Fiction
4
6
10
Facts
10
13
23
Total
14
19
33
Of the 10 fiction borrowers, what percent returned it?
%
3
Helmet
None
Total
Bikes
5
5
10
Scooters
17
4
21
Total
22
9
31
Of the 10 bike riders, what percent wore a helmet?
%
4
Cash
Card
Total
Weekday
12
8
20
Weekend
21
16
37
Total
33
24
57
Of the 20 weekday shoppers, what percent paid by card?
%
Two-way tables · What percent of a rowAnswer key
1. Of the 25 Team A players, what percent won? 40%2. Of the 10 fiction borrowers, what percent returned it? 60%3. Of the 10 bike riders, what percent wore a helmet? 50%4. Of the 20 weekday shoppers, what percent paid by card? 40%
