INTEGRATED PROCESSin

Teaching Elementary ScienceANALYZING AND INTERPRETING DATA

Ruel A. Vergel de DiosRodriguez II

Kasiglahan Village ES Unit I

At the end of the session, the participants are expected to:

• Analyze the given data • Make interpretations based on the data

presented • Organize data into different forms • Make inferences based on data• Recall differences between dependent and independent variables

OBJECTIVES

The human mind is extremely complex. Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists have filled libraries with books written about it. When one group produces data, another group has to interpret it.

Suppose your Science class is planning a party. You don’t have lots of money to spend, so you’re looking for bargains as you buy the food, drinks and decorations. For example, you can buy softdrinks in separate cans, in packs of six cans, or in one liter bottles. Some stores are having sales and you also have a few money saving coupons. What will you do to figure out the best price?

To figure out the best price…

• You would first have to decide how many softdrinks you need.• List down all the price information you have.• Compare the various choices.• Decide on what to buy.

Thirty (30) children took a Science test that was marked out of ten (10). Their scores are listed here.

4, 7, 6, 1, 2, 7, 6, 10, 3, 8,7, 5, 8, 9, 5, 6, 7, 4, 6, 3, 8, 5,

7, 6, 6, 4, 5, 7, 5, 6

ACTIVITY 1

Do these:

A. Fill in the tally chart below.

B. Convert the information into a bar chart.1 2

Score 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tally

Frequency

Thirty (30) children took a Science test that was marked out of ten (10). Their scores are listed here.

4, 7, 6, 1, 2, 7, 6, 10, 3, 8,7, 5, 8, 9, 5, 6, 7, 4, 6, 3, 8, 5,

7, 6, 6, 4, 5, 7, 5, 6

ACTIVITY 1

Do these:

A. Fill in the tally chart below.

B. Convert the information into a bar chart.1 2

Score 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tally 0 I I II III IIII IIII-II IIII-I III I I

Frequency 0 1 1 2 3 5 7 6 3 I I

B. Convert the information into a bar chart.

Answer the following questions.

1. Which score was the most common?2. Did anyone get everything wrong in

the test?3.What is the mean percentage score?4. What percentage of the pupils

passed the test or 75% level of proficiency?

ACTIVITY 1 cont.

The graph at the right represents the typical day of a teenager. Study it and answer the following questions.

A. What percent of the day is spent in watching TV?

B. How many hours are spent in sleeping?

C. What activity takes up the least amount of time?

ACTIVITY 2

D. What activity takes up a quarter of the day?

E. What two activities take up 50% of the day?

F. What two activities take up 25% of the day?G. By looking at the pie chart, does it contribute in analyzing the data? How?

A. What is the number of tadpoles per sample of water?

B. What is the biggest number of tadpoles? lowest?

C. At what pH level of water has the biggest number of tadpoles? smallest?

D. What is the average pH in this experiment?E. What is the optimum water pH for tadpoles development?

ACTIVITY 3pH OF WATER

NUMBER OF TADPOLES

8.0 45

7.5 69

7.0 78

6.5 88

6.0 43

5.5 23

F. Between what two pH readings is there the greatest change in tadpole number?

G. How many tadpoles would we expect to find in water with pH reading of 5.0?

H. Make a line graph of the data.

I. What appropriate title can you give for the given data?

pH OF WATER

NUMBER OF TADPOLES

8.0 45

7.5 69

7.0 78

6.5 88

6.0 43

5.5 23

ACTIVITY 3 cont.

ACTIVITY 4

This graph presents data that were collected over a 25-year period in a region of Luzon.

Spider population Mosquito population

Mosquito and Spider Populations

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Year

On an Luzon, 1985 - 2010

A. Start by summarizing the data. Using the title and the axis labels as a guide, write a sentence describing what the data show.

B. Examine the spider graph. How big was the spider population in 1985? (Hint: Remember to multiply the numbers on the vertical axis by 1,000.)

C. What does the shape of the spider graph tell you about the spider population from 1985 to 2010?

D. Examine the mosquito graph. How big was the mosquito population in 1985?

ACTIVITY 4 cont.

E. What does the shape of the mosquito graph tell you about deer population from 1985 to 2010?

F. List two other facts that you can learn from the graph.

G. How can the changes shown in this graph be explained?

H. Does your explanation in Question 7 fit in with what you know about mosquito and spider? Explain.

ACTIVITY 4 cont.

ABSTRACTION

Science (Process Integrated)

Definition Examples Purpose

Analyzing

Interpreting Data

Inspecting, cleaning, transforming and

modeling data with the goal of highlighting

information suggesting conclusions and support

decision making

Analyzing data that have been obtained and

organized by determining apparent patterns or

relationships in the data

Studying a graph, chart or table of

data

Skill of interpreting data will help a person understand what

others try to explain. In everyday life, we are constantly

interpreting data when we watch the news in television or when we read weather maps.

Data are the results of an experiment or the information collected from a process or observation. These have to be interpreted.

D A T A

The interpretation of data is based on the working of the human mind. Since human mind is not 100% objective, the interpretation of data may not be 100% accurate.

G R A P H S

• Graphs are a useful tool in teaching. The visual characteristics of a graph make trends in data easy to see. One of the most valuable uses for graphs is “to predict” data that is not measured on the graph.

1. PIE CHARTS • A pie chart looks like a circle divided into

triangles. Each triangle represents a specific type of information. These charts show parts of a whole, so if each percentage is added together, it must equal 100 percent.

PRESENTATION OF DATA

2. LINE GRAPHS • Line graphs are used to express trends

dependent on variables. The vertical part of the graph expresses one value while the horizontal dimension expresses another.

3. BAR GRAPHS • A bar graph is similar to a line graph in that there

are two types of variables. A difference between these graphs is that a bar graph is used to compare two types of data depending on the variables.

1. Organize the data into a table or arrange the data in a specific order such as largest to smallest. If applicable, make calculations such as adding, subtracting or finding average.

2. Make a graph of the data.

3. Look for trends on patterns in the data or graph.

4. Make one or more inferences from the data. Then compare the inferences with what you already know about the topic.

5. If your inferences seem to contradict what you know, review your work to see whether you made any errors or need to examine the data again,

TIPS FOR INTERPRETING DATA

Identifying and Controlling Variables

Experimental Components

Variable

-any factor that could change in an experiment

Experimental Components

Controlling variables involves the process of deciding which variables or factors will influence the outcome of an experiment, situation or event and deliberately controlling all recognized variables in a systematic manner.

Experimental Components

Independent Variable

The factor that is purposefully changed or manipulated in an experiment.

Experimental Components

Dependent Variable

The factor or variable that may change as a result of changes purposely made in the independent variable.

Experimental Components

Independent Variable-you change it variable

Dependent Variable-it changed variable

Independent vs Dependent

Experimental Components

1. A scientist recorded the temperature at a specific location on Earth’s surface. They drillbelow the surface to collect temperatures at different depths. The results of their work are shown in the table below.

APPLICATION

Do these:

A. Create a line graph.B. Interpret the graph and make inferences.C. Present your output in 2 -3 minutes.

Depth (km) Temperature ( 0C )

0 151 522 883 1204 1515 1796 2067 2328 257

APPLICATION

1. The deeper the location of the temperature reading beneath Earth’s surface, the hotter the temperature is,

2. For every additional kilometer of depth, the temperature increases about 300 Celsius degrees.

3. The temperature at a depth of 3.5 km. would be about 1350 C

INTERPRETATION AND INFERENCES ON THE GRAPH PRESENTED

To determine whether your interpretation of the data is logical, you compare it with what you already know.

Example:

You know that lava inside the Earth sometimes erupts from volcanoes and that lava is extremely hot. You decide your interpretation of the data makes sense.

Could you use the data about temperature beneath Earth’s surface to predict the temperature at 9 km. beneath Earth’s surface? Explain your reasoning.

CHECKPOINT

Things aren’t always what we think!

Six blind men go to observe an elephant. One feels the side and thinks the elephant is like a wall. One feels the tusk and thinks the elephant is a like a spear. One touches the squirming trunk and thinks the elephant is like a snake. One feels the knee and thinks the elephant is like a tree. One touches the ear, and thinks the elephant is like a fan. One grasps the tail and thinks it is like a rope. They argue long and loud and though each was partly in the right, all were in the wrong. For a detailed version of this fable see: http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/1/?letter=B&spage=3

Blind men and an elephant

- Indian fable