Observing and analysing data
A thermometer reads "36". Is that 36 degrees Celsius, 36 Fahrenheit or 36 as the temperature of a sick animal? Without units, a piece of data is useless: that is why science is so strict about how data are collected and presented.
Data tables
During break you count the birds in the playground and jot down on a napkin: Monday 12 pigeons, Tuesday 9, Wednesday 15... If you have dozens of loose observations, how can we organise the information so that we can look it up and compare it at a glance?
You have counted the pigeons seen in the playground over five days: 12, 9, 15, 11, and 14. Draw a properly made data table, with a title and column headings, to record…
You have counted the pigeons seen in the playground over five days: 12, 9, 15, 11, and 14. Draw a properly made data table, with a title and column headings, to record those values.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
A table reads: "the school sports court measures 100". Explain what information is missing for the data to be complete and why units are essential in a table of…
A table reads: "the school sports court measures 100". Explain what information is missing for the data to be complete and why units are essential in a table of scientific data.
Explain the difference between qualitative data and quantitative data, and classify these observations from the playground: "the flowers are yellow", "there are 14…
Explain the difference between qualitative data and quantitative data, and classify these observations from the playground: "the flowers are yellow", "there are 14 bees", "the leaves are $5\ \text{cm}$ long", and "the air smells of wet grass".
Qualitative and quantitative data
When examining a rock in the laboratory you note that "it is grey with shiny flecks, has a rough texture and weighs $240\text{ g}$". What is the difference between observations that describe a quality in words and those that are measured with a number?
The maximum temperatures one week were 20, 22, 23, 25, 24, 26, and 21 degrees Celsius. Calculate the mean temperature for the week and point out which two days were…
The maximum temperatures one week were 20, 22, 23, 25, 24, 26, and 21 degrees Celsius. Calculate the mean temperature for the week and point out which two days were furthest from that mean.
Choosing the type of graph
You have a list of the temperature recorded every hour during a trip and another of the number of trees of each species found. How can we turn those lists into a picture so that we grasp the information immediately?
You want to represent three sets of data: (a) how classroom temperature changes throughout the day, (b) the percentage of students choosing each sport, and (c) the…
You want to represent three sets of data: (a) how classroom temperature changes throughout the day, (b) the percentage of students choosing each sport, and (c) the number of different species observed in each area of the playground. State which type of graph (line graph, pie chart, or bar chart) you would choose in each case and justify your choice.
The graph shows the height reached by some plants depending on the hours of light they receive each day. Describe the relationship between both variables and, using the…
The graph shows the height reached by some plants depending on the hours of light they receive each day. Describe the relationship between both variables and, using the grid lines to help you, estimate the approximate height of a plant receiving 6 hours of light per day.
The temperature of a glass of hot water cooling on a table is measured: at 0 min it reads $60\ ^\circ\text{C}$, at 5 min $52\ ^\circ\text{C}$, at 10 min…
The temperature of a glass of hot water cooling on a table is measured: at 0 min it reads $60\ ^\circ\text{C}$, at 5 min $52\ ^\circ\text{C}$, at 10 min $45\ ^\circ\text{C}$, at 15 min $40\ ^\circ\text{C}$, and at 20 min $36\ ^\circ\text{C}$. What was the temperature at 10 minutes? In which time interval did the temperature drop the fastest?
Back to the beginning: that "36" only makes sense if you state the unit: $36\text{ °C}$ is a normal human body temperature, whereas $36\text{ °F}$ would be barely $2{,}2\text{ °C}$ (the temperature inside a fridge).