G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 14/7/04 9:38 AM Page 154

U N I T
Data Management

r n i n g Goals
Lea

• Text
interpret and evaluate data in
tables and graphs
• draw labelled graphs by hand
and with a computer
• recognize accuracy or bias in
tables and graphs
• examine how data were
collected and if they are
reasonable
• find the mean and the mode of
a set of data
• predict the results of a survey
• design and conduct a survey

154
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Key Words

range

mean
Students collected data about the amount of rainfall.
Monthly Rainfall for One School Year average
Month Amount (mm)
mode
September 70
October 63 intervals
November 67
December 62 line graph
January 47
sample
February 46
March 58
bias
April 65
May 67

Monthly Rainfall for One School Year

70
60
in millimetres

50
Rainfall

40
30
20
10
0
r

er

ry

rch

ril

y
be

be

be

uar

Ma
Ap
rua
tob

Ma
tem

vem

em
Jan

Feb
Oc

Dec
Sep

No

Months

• In which month did the most rain fall?

• In which month did the least rain fall?
• How else could you display the data?
• How do you think these data were collected?
• What other weather data might you record?
155
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L E S S O N

Interpreting Data

Governments and organizations

collect and use data
to help make decisions.
Before a decision is made to
redesign a park, data are collected
on its current use.

Fun Times Park Saturday Activities at Fun Time Park

Saturday Activities
Running
Activity Number of People
Skateboarding Rollerblading
Bicycling 112
Rollerblading 93 Riding
Scooters
Running 35 Bicycling

Riding scooters 51
Skateboarding 43

If we subtract the least value

Which activity has the most participants? from the greatest, we find the
Write 5 other things you know from the data. range of the data. It tells how
What do the data not show? spread out the data are.
Do the table and the circle graph show the same data?
How do you know?
How might the data have been collected?
Do you think the data are reasonable? Explain.

Show and Share

Write a question that can be answered from the data.
Exchange questions with another pair of classmates.
Answer your classmates’ question.

156 LESSON FOCUS Read and interpret data in tables and graphs.
G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 14/7/04 2:59 PM Page 157

ery Day
bers Ev
Fun Times Park rents equipment.
The rental data are displayed in graphs.
Num
Number Strategies
Tables, pictographs, bar graphs, and circle graphs
Write an equivalent decimal for
each show data in an organized way. each number.
The title of the graph tells you what data are displayed. • 0.3
Each graph presents the same data. • 1.9
• 2.60
➤ In a pictograph, symbols • 9.80
show the data. • 6.5
A key shows what each symbol
represents. In the pictograph,

represents 20 rentals. Equipment Rentals for Week of July 2

To find the number of scooters

Type of Equipment
Rollerblades

rented, count the Bicycles

and multiply by 20. Skateboards

There are 8ᎏ12ᎏ .

Scooters

8 ⫻ 20 = 160
= 20 People
represents 10 rentals.

160 + 10 = 170
So, 170 scooters were rented.

➤ In a bar graph, bars show the data. Equipment Rentals for Week of July 2
The numbers on the vertical axis 240
220
show the scale.
Number of Rentals

200
180
In this bar graph, the bar for 160
140
rollerblade rentals is about 120
100
halfway between 220 and 240. 80
60
So, the rollerblade rentals are about 230. 40
20
From the bar graph, the 0
s

ds

greatest number of rentals is 230.

de

cle

r
te
ar
bla

oo
cy

bo

The least number of rentals is about 150.

Bi

Sc
r

e
lle

at
Ro

Sk

So, the range is about 230 – 150,

or about 80. Type of Equipment

157
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➤ In a circle graph, data are shown Equipment Rentals for Week of July 2
as parts of a whole.
This circle graph shows the
Bicycles
same data as in the pictograph. Scooters

The sector for bicycle rentals

is about ᎏ14ᎏ of the circle. Skateboards
Rollerblades
About ᎏ14ᎏ of the people who rented
equipment rented bicycles.

Average Annual Precipitation in Canadian Cities

1. Look at this table of
weather data in Canada. City Snowfall Total Wet
(cm) Precipitation Days
a) Which city has (mm)
the most wet days?
Charlottetown, PE 338.7 1201 177
The fewest?
Quebec City, QC 337.0 1208 178
b) Which city has the
greatest snowfall? Ottawa, ON 221.5 911 159
The least? Calgary, AB 135.4 399 111
c) Which cities have about Vancouver, BC 54.9 1167 164
3 times as much Victoria, BC 46.9 858 153
precipitation as Calgary?
d) Write 2 other questions
that can be answered from the data.
Answer the questions.
e) Describe other ways you could display these data.

2. The circle graph shows the after-school activities

students chose at Allgood Elementary School.
a) Which activity was chosen
by the most students? Students Taking Part
The fewest? in After-School Activities

b) Estimate the fraction

Dance and
of students that chose Science Fitness Club
Club
the homework club.
c) Which 2 activities Choir
Homework
were chosen by about Computer Club
Club
the same fraction
of students?

158
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Days MPs Sit

3. This pictograph shows the number of days in the House of Commons
Members of Parliament (MPs) sat in the
January
House of Commons in one year.
February
a) What months are not shown?
March
Why do you think they are not shown?
April
b) How many days did MPs sit in
May
the House of Commons in March?
June
c) How many days did MPs sit during the year?
September
d) Suppose the graph was redrawn with this key.
October
= 8 days November

How would the graph change? December

= 4 days
When parliament meets,
we say “MPs sit in the
House of Commons.”

4. This bar graph shows Number of Days Vegetables Grow

before Harvesting
the number of days vegetables
160
Number of Days

grow before they are picked. 140

120
a) Which vegetable takes 100
80
longest to grow? 60
40
b) What is the range of the data? 20
0
c) Suppose you wanted to
e
Le ek

On e
Sp ion
ch

Tu s
ip
a
ag

rn
Le
ttu

ina
Pe
bb

display these data as

Ca

a pictograph. Vegetable
What key would you use?
How many symbols would
you need for each vegetable?

Which do you find easier to read:

a graph or a table? Explain. Look through newspapers and
magazines, or search the Internet.
Find a table of data you can graph.
Graph the data. Give reasons for
your choice of graph.
ASSESSMENT FOCUS Question 4 159
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L E S S O N

Mean and Mode

The range of a data set tells how spread out the data are.
These sets all have range 5.

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 3042, 3047, 3045 586, 583, 581, 582

The range does not tell us what kinds of numbers are typical.
In this lesson, you will learn other ways to find one number
to represent all the numbers in a data set.

You will need 12 counters.

Three friends took part in a

Read-A-Thon.
One month, Ali read 2 books,
Bryn read 3 books,
and Lynne read 7 books.

Use counters to represent

the number of books.
Find one number that best represents
the number of books each person read.

Show and Share

very Day
mbersE
Share your findings with a classmate.
How did you use counters to help you decide
Nu
on the number? Mental Math
Explain to your classmate why your number Estimate each sum or
represents the data. difference.
5.39 + 4.41
1.97 – 0.68
7.63 + 10.01
5.92 – 2.98
6.54 + 1.11

160 LESSON FOCUS Calculate the mean and the mode of data.
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The mean is a number that represents the centre

of a set of numbers.
It is the balance point of the numbers.

Mary surveyed 4 friends on the number of first cousins each has.

She used linking cubes to represent the number of cousins.

Ahmed
Maria
Luis
Marlyn

➤ One way to find the mean is to make rows of equal length.

The mean number of first cousins is 5.

When you make equal rows or columns,

the total number of cubes does not change.
You can use this total to calculate the mean.
Both the mean
➤ The number of cubes in each row is 3, 4, 4, 9. and the mode are
Add these numbers together: 3 + 4 + 4 + 9 = 20 sometimes called
the average.
Then divide by the number of rows, 4: 20 ⫼ 4 = 5

The mean is 5.

The mode is the number that occurs

most often in the data.

➤ To find the mode, determine which answer

occurs most often.
In Mary’s data, the number 4 occurs twice.
The mode is 4 cousins.
Two people have 4 cousins.

161
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1. Use linking cubes to find the mean of each set of data.

a) 3, 4, 4, 5 b) 1, 7, 3, 3, 1 c) 2, 2, 6, 1, 3, 4

2. Calculate the mean of each set of data.

a) 2, 4, 7, 4, 8, 9, 12, 4, 7, 3 b) 24, 34, 44, 31, 39, 32

3. Here are the weekly allowances of 10 Grade 5 students:

$4, $6, $8, $10, $15, $5, $7, $10, $5, $10
a) What is the mean allowance?
b) What is the mode of the allowances?
c) Suppose two allowances of $14 and $20 are added to the list.
What is the new mean? What happens to the mode?

4. This table shows data for the Top 6 WNBA Scorers in 2003
Women’s National Basketball Name Games Field Free Total
Association. Played Goals Throws Points
a) Calculate each mean and mode:
Catchings 34 221 155 671
• Games Played
Holdsclaw 27 204 140 554
• Field Goals
Jackson 33 254 151 698
• Free Throws
Leslie 34 194 116 548
• Total Points
Smith 23 165 82 424
b) Who do you think is the best
Thompson 28 176 81 472
player? Why?

5. The graph shows the most

popular sports among people Most Popular Sports among
People Older Than 15
older than 15 in Sportsdale.
Volleyball
a) Which sports are equally popular? Tennis
Swimming
b) How could you use the bar graph Soccer
Sport

Skiing
to find the mode? Hockey
Golf
Explain and show your work. Cycling
Basketball
c) Calculate the mean. Baseball

Use estimated values from the graph. 0 500 1000 1500 2000
Number of People

What is the difference between mean and mode?

Use a set of data to explain.

162 ASSESSMENT FOCUS Question 5

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Creating Spreadsheets HN OL
Using AppleWorks

OG
TEC

Y
Work with a partner.

The town library tracks the number of books people sign out.

Town Library Sign Out Records

Season Number of Books

Winter 1488
Spring 1151
Summer 976
Fall 1259

Use AppleWorks.
Follow these steps to display these data in a spreadsheet.

1. Open a new spreadsheet in AppleWorks. Click:

2. To enter the data:

Click cell A1 to select it.
Type: Town Library Sign Out Records
Press Enter.
Click cell A2 to select it.
Type: Season
Press Enter.
Click cell A3 to select it.
Type: Winter
Press Enter.
Enter the rest of the seasons in cells A4 to A6.
Click cell B2 to select it.
Type: Number of Books
Press Enter.
Click cell B3 to select it.
Type the data for Winter: 1488
Press Enter.
Enter the data for the rest of the seasons in cells B4 to B6.

LESSON FOCUS Use a computer to create spreadsheets. 163

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3. To calculate the total number of books:

Click cell A7 to select it.
Type: Total
Press Enter.
Click cell B7 to select it.
Type: =SUM(B3..B6)
Press Enter.
You have entered the formula to find a sum.
The sum of the numbers in cells B3 to B6 will be displayed.
All formulas must begin with an “=” sign.

4. To calculate the mean:

Click cell A8 to select it.
Type: Mean
Press Enter.
Click cell B8 to select it.
Click: , then click:
Select Fixed as the Number option.
Enter 2 for Decimal Precision.

Click:
The number in this cell will be displayed
to the nearest hundredth.
Type: =B7/4
Press Enter.
You have entered a formula for division.
The sum in cell B7 will be divided by 4 (the number of data).
The result is the mean of the data.

164
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5. To format the spreadsheet:

Click cell A1 to select it.
Click: , then click:
Click:
Repeat for cells A2, B2, A7, A8, B7, and B8.

6. Save your spreadsheet.

Click: , then click:

Name your file. Then click:

I named my file “Town

Library Sign Out Records.”

7. Print your spreadsheet.

Click: , then click:
Click:

8. Record the name of your spreadsheet.

You will use it again on pages 169 and 176.

What are some advantages to using a spreadsheet?

Explain.

165
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L E S S O N

Drawing Bar Graphs

When you collect data it is important to make sure your data are accurate.
Always make sure the numbers or measurements you collect are reasonable.
Check any that seem unlikely.

You will need a measuring tape or a metre stick.

Measure each other’s height.
Record the heights on the board.
Look at the class data. Are the results reasonable?
What would make you think a result
was not reasonable? Explain.
Order the data for the class.
Draw a bar graph to display the data.

Show and Share

Show your graph to another pair of classmates.
Ask them questions about your graph.
Compare your graph with your classmates’ graph.
How are your graphs the same? Different?

Ms. Lindt teaches math to 25 Grade 5 students.

She ordered the marks her students received
from the least to the greatest.

She wants to display these data in a bar graph.

➤ There were too many pieces of data to graph each

mark separately.
First, she grouped the marks into equal intervals.

166 LESSON FOCUS Draw bar graphs by hand.

G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 14/7/04 3:05 PM Page 167

Marks of Students in Grade 5

Marks Number of Students

91–100 2
I should make about 81–90 4
5 or 6 intervals. Each
71–80 10
number should belong
to just one interval. 61–70 6
51–60 3

➤ She chose the scale Marks of Students in Grade 5

1 square represents 1 student. 10

Number of Students
9
She labelled one axis 8
7
“Number of Students” 6
5
and the other “Marks.” 4
3
Then she drew a bar for each 2
1
interval of marks and wrote a title. 51– 60 61– 70 71– 80 81–90 91–100
Marks

1. Which of these 3 sets of data would you group into intervals? Why?
How would you group the data into intervals?
Draw the bar graph for the data you grouped in intervals.
a) b)
Election Results Number of Books Read
Hillside Public School Students at Flanshaw School
Name Number Number of Number of
of Votes Books Students

Ho 32 One a week 62
Kake 26 One a month 72
Marr 80 One every 3 months 36
Neigh 30 One every 6 months 17
O’Neil 24 One a year 13
Young 40

c) Masses of parcels in a mail room:

27 kg, 29 kg, 30 kg, 31 kg, 31 kg, 31 kg, 32 kg, 33 kg, 34 kg,
35 kg, 36 kg, 37 kg, 37 kg, 38 kg, 39 kg, 41 kg, 42 kg

167
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2. Use the table. Number of Police Officers in 2002

a) What is the range of the data? Province Number of
The mean? Police Officers
b) Round these data to the nearest 100. Nova Scotia 1 608
Then graph the rounded data. Quebec 14 368
Which type of graph Ontario 23 328
did you choose to draw? Why?
Alberta 4 999
c) Which province has about double
British Columbia 7 106
the number of police officers as
British Columbia?
How does your graph show this?

3. A group fitness test showed the number of curls

each person could do in 1 minute:
30, 45, 25, 18, 15, 35, 27, 34, 26, 32, 43, 39, 29,
31, 43, 44, 26, 16, 20, 40, 44, 22, 27, 30, 36, 37
a) Calculate the mean and the mode.
b) Choose a suitable graph to display the data.
Explain your choice.
c) Draw the graph. Show the mean on your graph.
d) Which average, the mean or the mode,
is more typical of the data? Explain.

4. The students in a Grade 5 class recorded

their heights in centimetres:
137, 139, 139, 140, 140, 141, 142, 142, 142, 143, 144, 144,
146, 147, 148, 148, 149, 150, 152, 154, 158, 159, 160
a) Arrange the data into intervals.
Create a table to display the data.
b) Display the data in a bar graph.
c) Write 2 things you can learn
very Day
from the graph.
mbersE
Nu
Mental Math
Estimate each product.
Which strategies
Grouping data into intervals makes the data more did you use?
manageable. Use an example to show why the 148 ⫻ 9
choice of the interval width is important. 211 ⫻ 19
39 ⫻ 32
98 ⫻ 102

168 ASSESSMENT FOCUS Question 4

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Drawing Circle Graphs and HN OL

Bar Graphs Using AppleWorks

OG
TEC

Y
Work with a partner.

Use AppleWorks.
Follow these steps to graph the Town Library Sign Out data.
Use the spreadsheet you created on pages 163 to 165.

1. Open a spreadsheet in AppleWorks. Click:

2. Open your Town Library spreadsheet.

Click: , then click:
Click on the name of your spreadsheet:
Click:

3. To select cells A3 to B6:

Click cell A3. Hold down the mouse button.
Drag the cursor from A3 to B6.
Release the mouse button.

Follow Steps 4 to 6 to create a

circle graph of the spreadsheet data.

LESSON FOCUS Use a computer to draw bar graphs and circle graphs. 169
G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 13/7/04 5:38 PM Page 170

4. To create a circle graph:

Click: , then click:

Click the Gallery tab, click:

No options should be selected.

Give the graph a title.

Click the Labels tab.
Make sure Show Title and Show Legend
are selected.
Type: Town Library Sign Out Records
Click:

5. To move the graph:

Move the cursor inside the graph box.
Click and hold down the mouse button.
Drag the graph below the mean.
Release the mouse button.

6. To print the graph:

Click: , then click:
Click:

Follow Steps 7 to 9 to create a bar graph of the spreadsheet data.

7. To create a bar graph:

Click: , then click:

Click the Gallery tab, then click:

No options should be selected.

170
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Give the graph a title.

Click the Labels tab. Select Show Title.
Make sure Show Legend is not selected.
Type: Town Library Sign Out Records

Label the axes.

Click the Axes tab. Select X axis.
Type the Axis label: Season

Select Y axis. Type the Axis label: Number of Books

Enter these settings:

Click:

8. Save your graphs. Click: I named my file “Circle

and Bar Graphs.”
Then click:
Give your file a new name.
Then click:

9. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to move

and print your graph.

What are some advantages of graphing data using a computer?

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L E S S O N

Line Graphs

Meteorologists record data

regularly over time.
In this lesson, you will learn
to graph data to show
the change in the data.

Look at this graph. Monthly High Temperature

for Alert Bay, BC
What does this graph show? 20
Temperature in °C

18
How is it different from other graphs 16
14
you have seen? 12
10
How do the maximum temperatures 8
6
in May and November compare? 4
2
Which months have the same 0
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

maximum temperature?
Write 4 other questions you can answer Month
from the graph.

ery Day
Show and Share
bers Ev
Trade questions with another pair of classmates. Num
Answer your classmates’ questions. Number Strategies
How is this graph the same as a bar graph? Order the decimals in
A pictograph? How is it different? each set from least
to greatest.
• 0.68, 0.86, 0.80
• 1.35, 5.31, 5.13
• 67.4, 6.74, 7.64
• 2.31, 1.23, 2.13

172 LESSON FOCUS Draw line graphs by hand.

G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 14/7/04 9:58 AM Page 173

A line graph shows data points joined by line segments.

Lucy had a social studies project.

She needed to show data of the population
of Nova Scotia from 1950 to 1990. Population of Nova Scotia, 1950 – 1990
900

Population of Nova Scotia 875

Year Population 850

(thousands) 825

Population (thousands)
800
1950 638
775
1960 727
750
1970 782
725
1980 845
700
1990 895
675

650
In 1950, the population
was 638 000.
625

0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
We use a jagged line Year
to indicate that we are
not showing all the numbers
between 0 and 625.

To display these data on a line graph:

➤ Draw two axes.

The horizontal axis shows time.
Label the horizontal axis “Year.”
The vertical axis shows the data that change over time.
Label the vertical axis “Population (thousands).”

The range of the data

is 257. I don’t need to show If I start at 625
numbers less than 625. and count by
The highest number in the 25s, the scale will
table is 895. go up to 900.

173
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➤ Choose an appropriate scale. Population of Nova Scotia, 1950 – 1990

900
Count by 10s for the scale on
875
the horizontal axis.
850
The horizontal scale is 3 squares
825
represent 10 years.

Population (thousands)
800
Count by 25s for the scale on
775
the vertical axis.
750
The vertical scale is 2 squares
725
represent 25.
➤ Mark a point for 1950 at 638. 700

675
Then mark points for the rest
650
of the data in the same way.
➤ Use a ruler to connect each 625

0
consecutive pair of points, 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
from left to right. Year

➤ Give the graph a title.

➤ On a line graph, when the line segments:
• go up to the right, the graph is increasing
• go down to the right, the graph is decreasing
The graph goes up to the right.
The population in Nova Scotia increased from 1950 to 1990.

You will need grid paper. Year Number

of Otters
1. A survey of the population
1998 1955
of southern sea otters
is done each year. 1999 1858

The table shows the 2000 2053

results from 1998 to 2002. 2001 1863
a) Draw a line graph 2002 1846
to display these data.
b) Explain how you chose
the vertical scale.
c) What happened to the number
of sea otters from 1998 to 2002?
How can you tell from the graph?

174
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2. This table shows the growth of Rajiv’s cucumber vine.

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Length of Vine (mm) 0 1 7 15 27 35 41 48 53 57

a) Draw a line graph to display these data.

b) What does the line on the graph show?
c) Write 2 things you know from the graph.

3. This table shows the number Year Number of

of beekeepers in Ontario from Beekeepers
1994 to 2003. The numbers 1994 4500
are rounded to the nearest 100.
1995 4300
a) Draw a line graph to display these data.
1996 4100
b) How did you choose the scale?
1997 4100
c) What is happening to the number of
1998 4000
beekeepers in Ontario?
How does your graph show this? 1999 3600
d) How many beekeepers do you think 2000 3000
there will be in Ontario in 2004? 2001 3000
Explain your prediction. 2003 2650

You can display data using a line graph,

a bar graph, or a pictograph. Describe
a situation that best suits each type Look through newspapers and
of graph. Explain your thinking. magazines, or on the Internet.
Find a line graph. Describe the graph.
What information do you get from
the graph?

ASSESSMENT FOCUS Question 3 175

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Drawing Line Graphs Using AppleWorks

Work with a partner.

Use AppleWorks.
Follow these steps to draw a line graph of the
Town Library Sign Out data.
Use the spreadsheet you created on pages 163 to 165.

1. Open a spreadsheet in AppleWorks. Click:

2. Open your Town Library spreadsheet.

Click: , then click:
Click on the name of your spreadsheet:
Click:

3. To select cells A3 to B6:

Click cell A3. Hold down the mouse.
Drag the cursor from A3 to B6.
Release the mouse button.
4. To create a line graph:
Click: , then click:
Click the Gallery tab, then click:
No options should be selected.

Give the graph a title.

Click the Labels tab. Select Show Title.
Make sure Show Legend is not selected.
Type: Town Library Sign Out Records

Label the axes. Click the Axes tab.

Select X axis.
Type the Axis label: Season

Select Y axis.
Type the Axis label: Number of Books

176 LESSON FOCUS Use a computer to draw line graphs.

G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 13/7/04 5:42 PM Page 177

HN OL

OG
TEC

Y
Enter these settings:
Click:

5. To move the graph:

Move the cursor inside the graph box.
Click and hold down the mouse button.
Drag the graph below the mean.
Release the mouse button.
6. To print the graph:
Click: , then click:
Click:

7. Save your graph. Click: I named my file

Then click: “Line Graph.”
Give your file a new name.
Then click:
8. Look at the graph.
Complete each question
in your notebook.
a) Describe the shape of the graph.
b) Write 2 things you can tell from your graph.

9. You drew 3 different graphs to display the same data:

Look at the 3 graphs.
a) What can you tell from each graph that you could not tell
from the table?
b) Which graph do you think displays the data the best? Why?

What data would be best displayed in a circle graph?

A bar graph? A line graph? Explain.

177
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L E S S O N

Interpreting Survey Results

Suppose you want to find the sport

10- and 11-year-olds most like to watch.
How will you do the survey?
Decide on a survey question.
Draw a table to record the results.
Collect data for 10 people in the class.

Make up 3 questions to ask about the survey results.

Show and Share

Share your questions with another group of classmates.
Ask your classmates to answer the questions.
Did you ask the same survey question?
Do you think the results of your survey would be the same
if you surveyed 10 different people in your class?
In another country? Explain.
Do you think the people you surveyed represent all
10- and 11-year-olds?

Miller wants to know which candy colour is

most common in a box of Gooey Chewy Candy.

Gooey Chewy Candy is sold in stores everywhere. A sample is a

small group chosen from
Miller cannot check every box. the entire group.
So, he checks a sample of 50 boxes purchased
from one store.

178 LESSON FOCUS Conduct a survey and interpret survey results.

G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 13/7/04 5:43 PM Page 179

Here are Miller’s findings: Gooey Chewy Candy in 50 Boxes

Colour Number of Candies
• Miller discovered red was
Red 138
the most common colour of
Blue 16
Gooey Chewy Candy.
Yellow 95
The mode colour was red.
Orange 82
• He calculated the mean number of Green 56
candies of each colour in 50 boxes White 105
to be 82.

Miller had expected the number of

each colour of candy to be about
the same in each box.
He thought he should sample other stores to see if their results
were similar before concluding that there were always more red
and white candies than green or blue in a box.

A sample that does not truly represent the group is biased.

1. Write a survey question for each topic.

Give 4 possible answers for each question.
a) favourite food b) favourite athlete c) species of pet

2. How could you conduct a school survey without

questioning every student in the school?
Explain how you could make sure the sample was not biased.

Math Link
Your World
Statistics Canada collects data
on many topics, such as the
economy and the size of the
population. Politicians and
researchers use these data to
learn more about our country
and to make decisions.

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3. This graph shows the results of Computers in the Home

20

Number of Students
a student survey. 18
16
a) Write what the survey question 14
12
might have been. 10
8
b) How many students do you 6
4
think were surveyed? Explain. 2
0
c) Do you think a sample or an

en

om

r
ute
oo
tch

ro

mp
dr
entire group was surveyed? Why?

ly
Ki

Be

co
mi
Fa

No
d) Write 2 things you know Location
from this survey.

4. Best Bicycle Company surveyed 10 bike stores in Ontario.

It wants to find out how many of their bikes have been sold
in the last 6 months. Here are the results:

Bicycle Sales
40
Number of Bikes

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
March April May June July August

Month

a) What is happening to bike sales?

Why do you think this is happening?
b) Find the mean number of bicycles sold during this period.
c) Predict sales for September.
Give reasons for your prediction.

ry Day
bers Eve
Num
Number Strategies
Round to the nearest dollar.
$ 7.78
Why might you survey a sample rather than $12.62
an entire group? Explain. $ 1.40
$25.35
$14.55

180 ASSESSMENT FOCUS Question 3

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Medical Researcher of W
ld

Wor

ork
Every now and then we hear about a medical breakthrough.
It could be a new drug, a new treatment, or a new understanding
of the human body. Often, it changes the way doctors treat a
particular illness. These advances in medicine are the
result of years of research. Researchers carefully People in the control
collect data, analyse and interpret the data, and group do not receive
present their findings. the treatment.
Medical researchers conduct experiments or trials.
In a double-blind study,
These are tests to prove or disprove an idea.
neither the researcher nor
There are very strict guidelines for setting up trials.
the participants know who
The guidelines help ensure the results are accurate. is receiving the treatment.
Researchers repeat experiments many times to see
if they can duplicate the results. They use “control groups”
or “double-blind” testing. They also have other researchers
check their work. In medical research, interpreting the data
incorrectly could lead to serious damage or even death!
Medical researchers need to be careful, precise, and cautious in
their work. But a good medical researcher is also very curious and
open-minded. Researchers can’t be disappointed when they get
different results from those they were expecting. Even negative
results are useful. Unexpected or strange results can sometimes
lead to new discoveries. Some of the most important medical
breakthroughs have happened “by accident.”

181
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L E S S O N

Bias in Displaying Data

In the previous lesson, you learned that the data produced

by a particular sample might not truly represent the entire group.
Sometimes, data are displayed to suggest a particular result.

The points scored by 3 basketball players are shown in the table.

The data are displayed in two graphs.
Points Scored
in a Season
Player Points

Abrams 280
Kiski 300
Snell 250

Points Scored in a Season Points Scored in a Season

300 300

290
Points Scored

Points Scored

200 280

270

100 260

250

240
Abrams Kiski Snell Abrams Kiski Snell
Players Players

From the table, does there appear to be a great

difference in the points each player scored?
What is the range of the points?
Compare Graph A and Graph B.
In which graph does the range seem small?
In which graph does the range seem great?
How are the graphs the same? How are they different?

182 LESSON FOCUS Investigate bias in the way data are displayed.
G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 14/7/04 3:10 PM Page 183

Show and Share

ery Day
Discuss your answers with another pair of students.
bers Ev
Discuss how the vertical scale makes the
two graphs look different.
Num
Why might you choose to use Graph A?
Mental Math
Graph B?
Write 5 different
number sentences
with the answer 375.

In a survey, 1000 people were asked to choose

between 2 brands of shampoo.
The results are displayed in two different graphs.

Favourite Shampoo Favourite Shampoo

600 550
Number of People

Number of People
500

400 500

300

200 450

100

0 400
Frizz Free Shiney Locks Frizz Free Shiney Locks
Brands Brands

Graph A Graph B

➤ Graphs show data in a way that is easy to see.

However, graphs can also show data with bias.
Bias shows data in a way that someone else wants you
to see them.

➤ Look at Graph A.
The difference between the numbers of people
that chose Frizz Free or Shiny Locks shampoo is
not very large.
From Graph B, however, it appears that 3 times
more people chose Frizz Free over Shiny Locks.
Graph B is biased.
Suppose you were advertising Frizz Free shampoo.
Graph B creates the impression that Frizz Free
is much more popular with customers.

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1. The graphs show how two students spend their allowance.

How Students Spend Their Allowance

Movies Food
Movies
Food

Music Clothes
Clothes Music

Mark Tina
Graph A Graph B

a) From the graphs, can you tell how much money Tina has?
Mark has?
b) From the graphs, which student appears to spend more
money on movies?
c) From the graphs, can you actually tell which student spends
more money on movies? Explain.

2. A company displays its profit for 6 months on two different graphs.

Company Profit
$140,000
Company Profit $120,000

$140,000 $100,000
Profit

$100,000 $80,000
Profit

$60,000 $60,000

$20,000 $40,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 $20,000
Months
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Months

Graph A Graph B

a) How are the two graphs alike? How are they different?
b) What were the company’s profits in month 6?
c) Suppose you were writing a newsletter for the company and
wanted to emphasize profit. Which graph would you choose?
Explain why.

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3. In a survey, 5000 people were asked to name

their favourite potato chip.
The graphs show the results of a survey.
Favourite Potato Chip Favourite Potato Chip
200
Number of People

Number of People
200 190

180

170
100
160

150

140
Krunchie Tasty Tater Delish Krunchie Tasty Tater Delish
Brands Brands

Graph A Graph B

a) Look at Graph A. Does there appear to be much

difference in the number of people who chose
Krunchie over Tasty Tater or Delish?
b) Use Graph A. How many people chose Krunchie?
How many chose Tasty Tater? How many chose Delish?
c) In Graph B, the bar for Krunchie is twice as high as the
bars for the other brands.
Can you say that twice as many people prefer Krunchie?
Explain.
d) Use Graph B. How many people chose Krunchie?
How many chose Tasty Tater? How many chose Delish?
e) Suppose you were advertising Krunchie.
Which graph makes the range appear to be larger than
it really is? Explain.

Suppose that a graph is drawn

to show bias. Look through newspapers
Does this mean that the data in and magazines. Find an
advertisement that uses
the graph are incorrect? Explain.
graphs. Is there any bias?

ASSESSMENT FOCUS Question 3 185

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L E S S O N

Greg was playing marbles with his friends.

In the first game, he lost 2 marbles.
In the second game, he lost twice as many
as in the first game.
In the last game, he won 8 marbles.
Greg finished with 25 marbles.
How many marbles did he start with?

Show and Share

Describe the strategy you used to
solve the problem.
Strategies

• Make a table.
• Use a model.
At school, Jasmin bought chocolate milk for $0.75, • Draw a diagram.
a hot dog for $1.00, and a bottle of water for $1.07. • Solve a simpler
On the way home, she found a quarter on the sidewalk. problem.
At the end of the day, she had $1.37 in her wallet. • Work backward.
How much money did Jasmin start with? • Guess and check.
• Make an organized
What do you know? list.
• Jasmin finished with $1.37. • Use a pattern.
• Jasmin spent $0.75, $1.00, and $1.07. • Draw a graph.
• Jasmin found $0.25.

Think of a strategy to help you solve the problem.

• You can work backward.
• Start with $1.37.
• Subtract what she found.
• Add what she spent.

186 LESSON FOCUS Interpret a problem and select an appropriate strategy.

G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 13/7/04 5:47 PM Page 187

• Subtract $0.25 from $1.37.

• Add $1.07, $0.75, and $1.00.
• How much money did Jasmin start with?

How can you check your answer?

How could you have solved this problem
another way?

Choose one of the

Strategies
1. On Saturday Jo walked her dog for 20 minutes more than
she did on Sunday. For both days she walked a total
of 1 hour 15 minutes.
For how long did Jo walk her dog on Saturday?

2. All 5 students in Carlo’s group saved some money each

week toward the cost of a trip. The mean amount of
money saved one week by the group was $2.50.
Suppose each student saved a different amount.
How much might each have saved that week?

3. Ari lines up his hockey cards with the same number of

cards in each row. The card in the middle of the array has
5 cards above, below, to the right, and to the left.
How many cards does Ari have?

How can working backward help you solve a problem?

Use words and numbers to explain.

187
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h ow What You Know

S

LESSON

1 1. This graph shows the sources of Ontario's Sources of Electricity in 2003

Ontario’s electricity in 2003. Oil
&
a) Which sources each provide most of Gas
Ontario’s electricity?
Coal Nuclear
How does the graph show this?
1
b) Which sources each provide less than ᎏ4ᎏ of
Ontario’s electricity? Other Hydroelectric

c) About what fraction of Ontario’s electricity

comes from oil and gas?

2 2. Here are the masses, to the nearest kilogram,

3
of a group of Grade 5 students:
26, 28, 30, 32, 32, 32, 33, 33, 34, 35, 35, 36, 37,
37, 37, 37, 38, 38, 39, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 43
a) What is the mean mass?
b) Arrange the data into intervals.
How did you decide on the intervals?
c) Display the data in a bar graph.
d) Write 3 questions you can answer using the graph.
e) Answer your questions.

3. This table shows the

Name Games Played
number of games
the top 10 National Allen 76
Basketball Asssociation Bryant 82
scorers played in 2003. Duncan 81
a) Find the mean number Garnett 82
of games played. Iverson 82
b) Find the mode. McGrady 75
c) Find the range of Nowitzki 80
the data. O’Neal 67
d) Display these data
Pierce 79
in a graph.
Webber 67

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LESSON

4 4. A survey of Canadians aged 9 to 14 was conducted. Year Amount

The table shows how many dollars each spend on
1999 $19
music CDs for every $100 they spend.
2000 $22
a) Draw a line graph to show these data.
2001 $17
b) Describe the graph.
c) What do you think the data will be for 2003? Explain. 2002 $16

5 5. These graphs show how many people prefer each type of candy.
6

Favourite Candy Favourite Candy

150 150
Number of People

Number of People
125 140

100 130

75 120

50 110

25 100

0 90
Chewy Hard Chewy Hard
Type of Candy Type of Candy

a) How are the two graphs similar?

I
How are they different? UN T
b) Which graph shows bias? Explain why.
a r n i n g Goals
Le
6. Conduct a class survey about favourite
hockey teams.
a) Write the question you will ask. ✓ interpret and evaluate data in
tables and graphs
b) Conduct the survey.
c) Display the results.
✓ draw labelled graphs by hand
and with a computer
d) Write about your survey.
✓ recognize accuracy or bias in
tables and graphs
✓ examine how data were
collected and if they are
reasonable
✓ find the mean and the mode
of a set of data
✓ predict the results of a survey
✓ design and conduct a survey

189
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In the Lab

When scientists conduct experiments they collect and study data.

You will conduct an experiment to collect and study data.

Part 1
Work in a group.
Decide on a question that may be answered
by doing an experiment.
Design the experiment.
What do you expect the results might be?

Part 2
Conduct the experiment.
Remember to:
• Write down what you want to find out.
• List each step of the experiment.
• List any materials you need.
• Record your data in a table.
• Draw and label a graph to display your data.
• Write the results of the experiment.

190
G5_U5 (154-191)_F1 13/7/04 5:50 PM Page 191

ist
Check L

Your work should show

✓ that you created a plan
to answer your
experiment question
✓ how you collected and
recorded data accurately
✓ a graph that is easy to
understand, with labels
and title
✓ a clear explanation of
your results

Part 3
Trade results with another group.
Check each other’s work.
Are the results reasonable?
Discuss why or why not.

Part 4
Present your results to the class.
Discuss what you learned from your experiment.

Describe some ways you can display data.

When would you use each way?
Use examples to explain.

191