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Ch4_Chapter_notes

The document discusses the importance of collecting, organizing, and displaying data in the context of Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics. It emphasizes the relevance of statistics in various real-life situations and encourages students to engage in data handling through practical examples and investigations. Additionally, it highlights the need to critically assess data presentation to avoid misleading statistics.

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Eman Shalaby
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
8 views

Ch4_Chapter_notes

The document discusses the importance of collecting, organizing, and displaying data in the context of Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics. It emphasizes the relevance of statistics in various real-life situations and encourages students to engage in data handling through practical examples and investigations. Additionally, it highlights the need to critically assess data presentation to avoid misleading statistics.

Uploaded by

Eman Shalaby
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics

4 Collecting, organising
and displaying data
Overview
In the age of the internet, data is more easily available to us than it has ever been. For example, the
appropriate use of statistics in a business could give you an advantage over a competitor. This idea
can lead to a discussion of what statistics is all about. It can be categorised broadly as collection,
organisation, display (all in this chapter) and analysis (in later chapters) of data.

Getting started
Data handling is not a new concept and students will have had some exposure to the concepts and topics
in earlier school years.
It is useful to introduce this topic by making a statement or posing a question to the class. For example:
• Year 10 students spend more time studying than Year 9 students do.
• Which type of fruit juice do most students prefer?
You could then ask the class how they would decide if the statement was true or false, or how they would
find the answer to the question. Based on student responses, you could introduce the idea that you need
to collect data to do this, that you need to plan how to collect and organise the data you need, and then
that you need to represent the data in some way (often as a table and/or chart) and then interpret and
summarise your results.
Another approach is to use a packet of sweets, crisps or biscuits. Show the class the packet and ask them
what mathematical questions they could ask about it. Record the questions and then select one (for
example, does the packet contain an equal number of each colour sweet?) and have the students describe
how they would find the answer. This should lead to a similar discussion of the key steps in the data
handling process as the previous example.

Examples by chapter
The following worked example is available on PowerPoint slides with step-by-step solutions to introduce
concepts and demonstrate working:
• Organising and displaying data

Issues to think about


Collection of data – provides an opportunity for the students to use their imagination and to collect
data of their own. It’s worth taking some class time to discuss what sort of data they might collect and
then to give them a homework activity that requires them to do this. This discussion can also lead into
a consideration of what the terms primary data and secondary data mean. Secondary data is readily
accessible on the internet and can make for an interesting lesson using computers. Some sites are easier
to use than others so it is worth you doing some research in advance.
Misleading statistics – we are swamped with data in the modern world and so its presentation is crucial
if any meaning is to be taken from it. Bar charts, for example, are seen regularly in newspapers, but are
often poorly presented: they might be badly labelled or with misleading axes. Students could try to find
examples of bar charts and comment on their usefulness.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics

Data in real life contexts


We live in an information rich age. There are many examples of data in real life that you can use to enrich
the classroom experience. One method is to take a newspaper headline that relies on data collection over
time such as:
• Global warming is on the increase.
• Health Ministry warns cholera outbreak is worst on record.
• 2012 the worst year for natural disasters.
Discuss with students how the writers came to draw these conclusions. This effectively involves working
backwards along the data handling process. In other words, you have given the students the conclusion
based on the data. This was probably made based on a chart or summary in which data for one year was
compared with data from previous years. The chart and summary was based on a set of organised data or
measurements collected by scientists over a long period of time.

Extending the topic


Give the students an investigation to do on their own.
You may like to choose local issues that interest the students, for example:
• ‘Does our community need more whellchair ramps for the disabled?’
• ‘Do teenagers in our community get enough exercise on a daily basis?’

You could opt for attitude surveys, for example:


• ‘What do most parents want for their children?’
• ‘What quality do teenagers value most in a friend?’
A third option is to do a more global investigation using categorical data. For example: ‘How do life
expectancy rates vary from country to country?’

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