In a frequency distribution, what is the total number of scores equal to?

• A. The sum of the frequencies
• B. The sum of the X values
• C. The sum of X times frequency
• D. The sum of squared X values

Answer: (A)

The total number of scores is found by adding up all the category frequencies. Each frequency tells you how many times a particular score value occurs, so summing these frequencies across all score values gives the total count of observations in the data set.

For example, if you have 3 scores at value 2, 5 scores at value 4, and 2 scores at value 7, the total number of scores is 3 + 5 + 2 = 10.

The other ideas mix up what is being counted: summing the X values would give a total of the observed scores themselves, not how many observations there are. Summing X times frequency gives the total sum of all scores (the aggregate score), not the count. Squaring X values is related to variance computations, not to counting how many observations exist.