Unit 2 Be a data storyteller

Representing data
Get started!
Here are two different ways to show the same data. Work with your partner to answer
the questions.
A B

Name Age Ages of Children

10.5
Henry 9
10
Jasmine 10

Kent 9 9.5
Age

8.5

8
Henry Jasmine Kent
Name
Age

1 How is the data represented in A?

2 How is the data represented in B?
3 Which of the two is used to collect and organise the data?
4 Which of the two is used to present the data in graphical form?

You will learn: In this unit, you will learn about

• about computing tools that are used to computing tools for collecting,
collect data managing and representing data.
• how to represent data in different ways
• how to represent data to suit
different criteria
• how to collect data to answer questions.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Warm up
Work with your partner. Match the data to be collected in the right column to answer the
questions in the left column.

Question Data to be collected

1 How many students have brown hair in

a Number of badges each Scout earned
the class?
2 How many students are in the
b Maths scores of students
robotics club?

3 Who earned the most badges in Scouts? c Clubs that students are in

4 What is the highest maths score in class? d Total number of each candy bought

5 Which is the most popular candy bought

e Hair colour of students
at the candy store?

Do you remember?
Before you start this unit, check that you:
• know different ways of representing data using a digital tool
• know how to record data using computing devices
• know how to select data to solve problems.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Computing tools
Statistical investigations
Learn
A statistical investigation happens when we need to solve a problem or answer a question that
requires data.
Here are some examples of statistical investigations:
• You are asked to find out the three favourite fruits among students at your school. To do this,
you need statistical data.
• You are given a project to see how light affects the growth of a plant. To do this, you need data.
When conducting a statistical investigation, the following steps must be taken:
Step 1: Plan how to collect the data.
Step 2: Collect the data. Think about how you
Step 3: Carefully look at the data in many forms. would collect data to
find the answers to the
Step 4: Try to understand the data.
two problems above.
Step 5: Come to a conclusion.
We can use computing tools to help us in a statistical investigation. They include:
• data loggers • spreadsheets
• databases • document production software.

Data loggers
Data loggers are devices that collect data over a period of time. They are used
for monitoring a process.
These devices have sensors that can collect data such as temperature,
humidity, sound and pressure.
Data loggers collect data at regular times, known as intervals.
Here is a data logger to monitor the temperature.

Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet software is used to
store, organise and represent data.
Data can be shown in the form of tables
a table, graph or chart.
Spreadsheets are also used to: bar graphs
pie chart
• perform calculations on data
• sort data.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Databases
Database software stores
data in a structured way.
A database allows us to:
• enter data
• edit data
• search for data
• create reports
from data.
Here is an example of
a database that is used
by a bakery. It allows the
user to enter details about orders for cakes.

Document production tools

Document production software is used to create Pet Form
text-based documents. Some examples of document Pet's name:
production software are Microsoft Word and
Google Docs™. Type of animal:

They can be used to create documents such as

Reason for visit:
questionnaires, forms and reports.
Temperature:

Shots: yes no

Did you know?

Data loggers are used in many industries
such as Food and Health. Data loggers save
these industries millions of dollars daily by
preventing waste.
Here is a data logger that is used to monitor the
storage temperature of medication.

Keywords
statistical investigation: to carry
out a study or research using data
interval: a given amount of time

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Practise
1 To do research, the following steps must be taken.
Write these steps in the correct order in
your notebook.
A Try to understand the data
B Collect the data
C Come to a conclusion
D Carefully look at the data in various forms
E Plan how to collect the data
2 Here are some computing tools that can be used
to collect, store and present data in different ways.
State whether each of the computing tools is
hardware or software.
a Spreadsheets
b Databases
c Data loggers
d Microsoft Word
3 This is a picture of a data logger.
a Discuss with your partner what a data
logger is.
b Give some examples of the types of data a
data logger can collect.
4 Match the computing tool with the correct
description. Write the answers in your notebook.

Spreadsheets Data is organised in a structured way

Data loggers Can easily create charts from data

Databases Can be used to create a questionnaire

Google Docs™ Collects data at regular intervals

5 a List three computing tools that can be used when carrying out a data study.
b Explain the purpose of each computing tool listed in question 5a.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Representing data
Discrete, categorical and continuous
Learn
There are three types of data that can be collected:
• discrete • categorical • continuous.
We learnt about discrete and categorical data in the previous unit.
Discrete data is whole numbers such as 1, 20 or 65. Discrete data is best represented as a bar or
column chart.

Categorical data is grouped into categories. The data may be represented as a pie, bar or column
chart. This pie chart shows the number of people that bought a category of dessert.

Continuous data does not have to be a whole number and can take any value. Continuous data is
often used for things that can be measured.
For example, temperature can be measured and recorded as 35.0°C, 35.1°C, 35.2°C, 35.3°C, 35.4°C,
35.5°C, and so on.
Other examples of continuous data are height, time and amount of rainfall.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

The best chart to represent data that is collected at regular points is a line chart.
In this example, the table shows the temperature collected every hour between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.
The line chart shows the temperature at each hour.
Time Temperature (degrees Celsius)
6.00 a.m. 10.0
7.00 a.m. 10.5
8.00 a.m. 10.6
9.00 a.m. 11.0
10.00 a.m. 11.3

Using the chart, it is clear that there is a rise in temperature every hour.
It is easier to observe trends in data from a line chart.
Changing representations of data
There are times we may need to change how data is represented. This depends on what we want
to do with the data. There are two main ways to represent data:
1 as a table
2 in graphical form – charts and graphs.
For example, we may want data values sorted in a particular order, or we may want to add data
together. The best way to do this would be in a table.
The best chart to compare data values is a column or bar chart.
If we wish to show data values in the form of percentages, it is best to use a pie chart.
Spreadsheet software is a good tool for representing data as a table and as a chart.
Look at this table.
Customer Ice-cream flavour Orders
1 Vanilla 1
2 Chocolate 3
3 Chocolate 2
3 Strawberry 3
4 Strawberry 5

It shows the ice-cream orders of customers.

The owner of the ice-cream parlour would like to see the total orders of each type of ice cream.
The data can be represented as a summary table, as seen on the next page.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Ice-cream flavour Orders

Vanilla 1
Chocolate 5
Strawberry 8

The owner also wants to see the ice-cream sales in graphical form, to compare the sales of each
flavour. The data is selected from the summary table, and then the appropriate chart type is
chosen in the spreadsheet.
It is easy to compare the sales in this chart. A bar or column chart is best suited to compare data.
Ice-cream Sales
10

8
Number of orders

0
Strawberry Chocolate Vanilla
Flavour

The owner also wants to see the percentage sales of each Percentage of Ice-cream Sales
flavour in graphical form. He can choose the same data from
the summary table, then select a pie chart. 7%
Vanilla
Strawberry ice cream had the greatest percentage of Chocolate
57% 36% Strawberry
sales – 57%.
A pie chart can show data as percentages. So, a pie chart is the
best way to see the percentage sales.

The same data was represented

in three different ways.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Practise
Work in small groups to answer the following questions.
1 a What type of graph is shown? Bean growth in cm over 5 days
• bar
4.5
• line 4
• pie 3.5

Height in cm
b What type of data is represented 3
in the graph? 2.5
• discrete 2
• categorical 1.5
• continuous 1

0.5

0
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
2 2.5 3 3.6 4
2 a What type of graph(s) is
best suited to represent
categorical data?
b What type of graph(s) is best suited to represent discrete data?
Choose your answers from the options below. There may be more than one answer.
bar pie line column
3 Mrs Hart collected the following data from her class.
Name of student Test score
Damien Gilkes 78
Hannah Lee 85
Ramesh Singh 70
Bashir Karim 65
a Mrs Hart wants to see each student’s test score from the highest to lowest. What is the
best way to represent the data?
• line graph
• pie chart
• table
b Mrs Hart wants to represent the data in graphical form to compare test scores. What is
the best way she can represent the data?
• line graph
• table
• column chart

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Collecting data
To answer questions
Learn
Data can provide the answer to many questions. For example:
• Who got the highest mark in Science?
• What was the most popular snack sold this week?
To answer questions, we must first know what data is needed.
We can then work out the best way to collect the right data.
Look at the examples below to see how discrete and categorical data can be
collected to answer a question.
Collecting data
Question 1: What is the most popular eye colour in class?
Data to be collected: There are 25 students in class, so data about
the eye colour of all 25 students must be collected. The question to Remember, a good way
be asked is: “What is your eye colour?” to collect data from a
large number of people
Ways of collecting the data: There are many ways of collecting data:
is by using an electronic
1 Observation – walk around the class, observe the eye colour of or paper-based form.
each student and record it.
2 Questionnaire – each student can answer a question about their eye colour on a form.
3 Interview – you could ask each student their eye colour and record their answer.
Type of data: The data to be collected is categorical data. The category options can be given in a
form. This makes sorting data easy as it can be grouped by eye colour then counted.

What is your eye colour?

Brown T Blue T Black T Grey T Green T

Question 2: How many children out of a group of 6 like the colour red?
Data to be collected: The response from 6 students. The question to
Student Yes No
be asked is: “Do you like the colour red?”
Student1
Ways of collecting the data: A small amount of data needs to be
collected. The best way to collect this data is by asking each student Student2
and recording the answer (as seen in the table). Student3
Type of data: The data to be collected is categorical. The response
Student4
can be recorded under two categories, Yes and No. We can now easily
count the number of students who like the colour red. Student5
Student6

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Question 3: What is the average number of people in each house in Delhi?

Data to be collected: The number of people in each household. The question to be asked is, “How
many people live in your house?”
Ways of collecting the data: Many people need to be asked this question. The best way to collect
the data is by asking the question on a form.
Type of data: The data to be collected is discrete. This is because the answer can only be whole
numbers. The number of people may be different in each home, so the question can be open-ended.
How many people live in your household? _____

Practise
Work in groups to answer the questions.
1 The manager of the local supermarket wants to know the total number of times each
customer visits the supermarket in a month.
a What data must be collected?
• Number of times each customer visits the supermarket in a month
• Number of times each customer drives to the supermarket.
b What type of data is collected?
T Discrete T Categorical
c What question should be asked of each customer?
• Where do you live?
• How many items do you buy in a month?
• How many times do you visit the supermarket in a month?
2 The manager wants to know the customer’s favourite brand of milk. There are five different
brands of milk.
a What data must be collected?
• Names of the five brands of milk
• Brand of milk each customer likes.
b What question should be asked of each customer?
• How many times do you buy milk? Refer to the Learn
• What is your favourite brand of milk? panel to help you
• What is your favourite colour milk box? with your answers.
c What type of data is collected?
T Discrete T Categorical
d The supermarket usually has hundreds of customers each day. day The
manager thinks the best way to collect the data is to stop each customer
and ask them the question. Do you think this is the best way to collect the
data? Why?

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Go further
1 Complete the sentences with the correct words in the box.
plan look understand collect conclusion
To conduct an investigation, the following must be done:
a _____ how to collect the data. b _____ the data.
c Carefully _____ at the data in many forms. d Try to _____ the data.
e Come to a _____.
2 Complete the questions.
a What is a device used to collect data at regular intervals?
b What kind of software is used to perform calculations and create charts?
c What is an example of document production software?
d What is the name of software that lets us store data in a structured way?
3 The weather station wants to track the amount of rainfall over 5 days.
a The following data was collected: 2.5 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.2 mm, 2.3 mm, 1.7 mm.
What type of data is this?
• discrete • categorical • continuous
b What chart can best show the amount of rainfall over 5 days?
• pie chart • line chart • column chart
4 The data in the table shows how each student gets to school.
a The teacher would like to see a list of the total number of students using each type of
transportation. What is the best way to represent the data?
• summary table • pie chart • line chart
b The principal would like to see the percentage of students who travel by car and bus in
graphical form. What type of chart is best suited to represent the data?
• pie chart • line chart
5 Look at the following questions and discuss them with a classmate.
Question: Which swim team earned the highest score amongst 10 teams at the
Swimming Competition?
a What data must be collected to answer the question?
• The names of the teams • The scores of the teams
b What question should we ask each team?
• What is the name of your team? • What is your score?
• How many swimmers are in your team?
c What type of data is collected, discrete or categorical?
d To collect the data, we can walk around, ask each team their score and record it. Is this
the best way to collect the data? Why?

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

Challenge yourself!
Work in pairs.
1 State whether the following is true or false:
a Data loggers are devices that collect data over a period of time.
b Microsoft Word is an example of spreadsheet software.
c It is difficult to search for data in a database.
d Charts can be created using spreadsheet software.
2 The Science class wants to see how salt affects the boiling point of water.
a What type of graph is seen here?
b What type of data is represented in this Boiling point of water with salt
graph: discrete, categorical or continuous?

water / degrees Celcius

120
c State the name of another chart that can Boiling point of
be used to represent this type of data.
110
3 a Here is a table with information about
a club.
100
Club name Number of members
Reading 10 90
1 2 3 4
Poetry 25
Amount of salt / grams
Art 20
What type of chart is best suited to compare the number of members in each club?
• pie chart • line chart • column chart
b Give a reason for your choice of chart in question 3a.
4 Mrs John wants to know the average number of questions that a class of 15 students
answered correctly in a test.
a What data must she collect?
• The questions that were on the test
• The number of correct answers for each student.
b What question should she ask?
• What subject was the test on?
• How many questions were answered correctly?
c What type of data is collected: discrete or categorical?
d What is the best way/s to collect the data from the students?
• Questionnaire – use a form
• Observation – look at the number of questions each person got correct
• Interview – ask each student how many questions they got correct.
Give a reason for your answer.

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 Unit 2: Be a data storyteller

My project
Work in groups to complete the project. Write the answers in your notebook.
1 Imagine that you and your classmates are doing a science experiment to see how the
humidity changes in a day.
a State ONE computing tool that can be used to collect the data.
b State ONE computing tool that can be used to represent the data as a chart.
2 The following data was collected.
Time Humidity
9.00 a.m. 55.3
11.00 a.m. 54.0
1.00 p.m. 50.4
3.00 p.m. 47.1
a What type of data is seen in the table?
a in the table?
b What chart will be best suited to represent the data
3 Your teacher would like to know the most popular shoee colour in class.
a What data should be collected to answer the question?
tion?
b What question should she ask each student?
c What are some ways of collecting the data from the students in your class?
d What type of data will be collected: categorical, discrete or continuous?
e After the data is collected, your teacher would like to see a sorted list of the students
grouped by the colour of shoes. What is the best way to represent the data?
• chart • table
f Choose the best chart to show the percentage of students with each colour of shoes.
• line • pie

What can you do?

Read and review what you can do.

 I can list computing tools that may be used during a statistical investigation.
 I can identify different ways of representing data.
 I know how to represent data to suit different criteria.
 I know how to collect data to answer questions.

Well done! You now know about various

computing tools, how to present data and
how to collect data to answer questions!

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