成人快手

Choosing the right way to present data

Science experiments give results which are presented in a range of ways:

  • Drawings or photographs are useful to ways to present data which doesn't have a numerical value such as observations of the seasons or imagine if you found a new type of cell. A drawing or photograph would be the best way to present this. Scientific diagrams are different from those in art. They are more simple without areas of shading.

  • Bar charts help us present where the answers are whole numbers and the results which can be presented in any order. It wouldn鈥檛 matter if the chart showed the colours in the order green, brown and blue. Results like this can also be presented in a pie chart.

  • Line graphs are for used with results which must be in the right order. The time must start at one minute and go in order to five minutes.

  • Scatter graphs are used when presenting the data in a pattern seeking enquiry looking at patterns between two different variables.

  • Scientists write their findings up into short articles which are published in books called journals.

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Examples of how to present data

Results from experiments are often presented in tables and shown in charts and graphs to make them easier to understand. Here are three examples looking at eye colour, reactions and age and heart rate.

Example 1

Eye colourStudents in class
Brown20
Blue8
Green2

Example 2

Time taken (in minutes)Bubbles produced in reaction
11
29
317
415
50

Example 3

Age (years)Heart rate (Beats per minute)
855 bpm
860 bpm
1060 bpm
770 bpm
950 bpm
1165 bpm

Can you work out why the sets of data are presented using a bar chart, line chart or scatter graph?

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Activity 1: Quiz

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Activity 2: Presenting data

Ask a responsible adult to help you with this activity.

You will need a pen or pencil and some paper. Go or look outside and collect a tally chart of what you see.

You could record a tally of the different colours of cars or the number of birds in your garden or local park at different times of day.

Think about the best way to present this data. Are you going to use a:

  • bar chart
  • line graph
  • scatter graph
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More on Working scientifically

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