Statistical Investigations
What Is a Survey?
Circle the correct answer.
A survey is used to...
Which question is best for a survey?
How do you record survey answers?
Good Survey Questions
Circle the best survey question.
Which is a good survey question?
Which is a good survey question?
Read the Tally Chart
Count the tallies and write the total.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Apples | ||
Bananas | ||
Grapes | ||
Watermelon |
Another Tally Chart
Count the tallies.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Red | ||
Blue | ||
Green | ||
Yellow |
Favourite Sport Picture Graph
Use the picture graph to answer the questions.
| Soccer | |
| Swimming | |
| Cricket | |
| Tennis |
Which sport is the most popular?
How many more students chose soccer than tennis?
How many students were surveyed altogether?
Questions About Data
Answer these questions.
If 8 students like soccer and 3 like tennis, how many more like soccer?
The most popular category is called the...
Data in groups (like colours) is called...
Plan Your Own Survey
Plan a survey.
My survey question: ___
The categories (choices) are: ___
I will ask ___ people.
I predict the most popular will be: ___
Draw a Bar Graph
Use this data to draw a bar graph: Cats = 6, Dogs = 9, Fish = 4, Birds = 3.
Draw your bar graph here. Don't forget to label the axes and give it a title!
Interpret Your Graph
Answer questions about the bar graph you drew.
Which pet is the most popular? ___
Which pet is the least popular? ___
How many more dogs than fish? ___
How many pets altogether? ___
Home Activity: Family Survey
Conduct a survey at home!
- 1Ask your family: What is your favourite dinner? Record the answers in a tally chart.
- 2Survey your neighbours about their favourite colour. Make a bar graph.
- 3Count how many of each type of vehicle pass your house in 10 minutes. Display the data.
- 4Ask 10 people their favourite season. Which season is the most popular?
Data and Statistics — Set A
Circle the correct answer.
What is data?
What is a tally mark?
Every 5th tally mark is drawn...
The total in a tally chart is found by...
Data and Statistics — Set B
Circle the correct answer.
What does the 'mode' of a data set mean?
In a graph, the title tells us...
In a bar graph, each bar's height shows...
Favourite Breakfast Tally
Count the tallies.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Cereal | ||
Toast | ||
Eggs | ||
Fruit |
Favourite Subject Tally
Count the tallies and answer.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Maths | ||
English | ||
Art | ||
Sport | ||
Science |
Types of Transport Tally
Count the tallies.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Car | ||
Bus | ||
Walk | ||
Bike |
Favourite Season Picture Graph
Answer questions about the graph.
| Summer | |
| Autumn | |
| Winter | |
| Spring |
Which season is most popular?
How many more prefer summer than autumn?
What is the total number of students surveyed?
Favourite Animal Picture Graph
Use the graph to answer.
| Dog | |
| Cat | |
| Fish | |
| Bird | |
| Other |
Which animal is most popular?
Which two animals have the same number?
How many students were in the survey?
Interpret the Tally Chart — Set A
Use a tally chart result: Cats = 6, Dogs = 9, Fish = 4, Birds = 2.
Which pet is most popular? ___
Which pet is least popular? ___
How many more dogs than cats? ___
Total number of pets chosen: ___
Interpret the Tally Chart — Set B
Use this data: Mon = 5, Tue = 8, Wed = 3, Thu = 9, Fri = 7.
Which day had the most books borrowed? ___
Total books borrowed all week: ___
Which two days had the same total? ___
How many more books on Thursday than Wednesday? ___
Conduct a Survey — Set A
Conduct a survey of 10 students.
Survey question: What is your favourite sport? Choices: Football, Swimming, Tennis, Other
Results (tally): Football: ___ Swimming: ___ Tennis: ___ Other: ___
Most popular sport: ___
Conduct a Survey — Set B
Design and conduct your own survey.
My question: ___ My choices: ___, ___, ___, ___
Tally results: ___: ___ ___: ___ ___: ___ ___: ___
Most popular: ___ Least popular: ___
Draw a Bar Graph — Set A
Use this data to draw a bar graph.
Favourite colours: Red = 7, Blue = 10, Green = 4, Yellow = 5, Purple = 8. Draw your bar graph. Label axes, give title.
Draw a Bar Graph — Set B
Draw a bar graph from your own survey results.
Use the results from your earlier survey. Draw a bar graph with a title, labelled axes and accurate bars.
Answer Questions from Your Graph
Answer questions about your bar graph.
What is the mode (most common category)? ___
What is the difference between the highest and lowest? ___
Write one conclusion from your graph: ___
Survey Design Challenge
Design a survey to investigate a question about your class.
My statistical question: ___
I predict: ___
The categories I will use: ___
How I will display the results: ___
Sort: Categorical or Numerical Data?
Sort each type of data.
Sort: Good or Weak Survey Question?
Sort these survey questions.
Data Totals
A survey had 30 students. Fill in the missing count.
Statistical Investigation Report
Write a mini report on a statistical investigation.
Question investigated: ___
Method (how I collected data): ___
Results: ___
Conclusion: ___
What Type of Graph?
Decide the best graph type for each data set.
Favourite ice cream flavours of 20 students: use a ___
How many books read each day for a week: use a ___
Eye colour of each student in class: use a ___
Read a Dot Plot
A dot plot shows how many students got each score: 5=· 6=··· 7=····· 8=···· 9=· 10=·
Most common score: ___
How many students got 7 or above? ___
Total students: ___
Read the Data Display — Set A
A bar graph shows: Dogs = 8, Cats = 6, Fish = 3, Birds = 4. Answer questions.
Which pet is most popular?
How many more students have dogs than fish?
Total students surveyed:
Survey and Display in Steps
Complete a full statistical investigation.
Step 1 — Question: ___
Step 2 — Collect data (tally chart):
Step 3 — Display (bar graph or picture graph):
Step 4 — Conclusion: ___
Data Ethics
Think about collecting and using data fairly.
Why should we keep survey responses private? ___
What could go wrong if we only survey 2 people? ___
How can we make sure our survey is fair? ___
Draw Conclusions
What conclusions can you draw from this data: Summer = 12, Autumn = 5, Winter = 7, Spring = 9.
Most popular season: ___
Least popular season: ___
More students like Summer than all others combined? ___
A possible reason for the most popular result: ___
Total from Tally Data
Add the categories to find the total.
Data Values Sequence
Fill in the missing data value.
Reading a Pictograph — Set A
Use: Cats=🐱×4, Dogs=🐕×7, Fish=🐟×3, Birds=🦜×5. Answer:
Total animals counted:
Most popular pet:
How many more dogs than cats?
Reading a Bar Graph — Set A
A graph shows: Red = 8, Blue = 12, Green = 5, Yellow = 9. Answer:
Most popular colour:
Least popular colour:
How many chose red or yellow combined?
What Does the Graph Tell Us?
A graph shows students' favourite sports: Swimming=15, Football=22, Tennis=8, Basketball=18. Answer:
Most popular sport:
Least popular sport:
Total students surveyed:
Match Statistical Terms to Meanings
Match.
Match Graph Type to Best Use
Match.
Sort: Categorical or Numerical Data?
Sort each type of data.
Sort: Which Graph Type to Use?
Sort each scenario.
Record: Favourite Season
Conduct a survey of 10 people. Record results.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Summer | ||
Autumn | ||
Winter | ||
Spring |
Record: Favourite Colour
Ask classmates. Record their favourite colour.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Red | ||
Blue | ||
Green | ||
Yellow | ||
Other |
Favourite School Subject
This graph shows Year 3's favourite subjects.
| Maths | |
| English | |
| Art | |
| PE | |
| Science |
Which subject is most popular?
How many more students prefer PE than Art?
How many students were surveyed?
Books Read This Month
This graph shows how many books students read.
| Ana | |
| Ben | |
| Cam | |
| Dee | |
| Eve |
Who read the most books?
How many books did Ana and Ben read combined?
How many books did the class read in total?
Plan and Conduct a Survey
Plan a survey about your classmates.
My survey question: ___
My categories (choose 4): ___, ___, ___, ___
My prediction for most popular: ___
After surveying: most popular was ___ and least popular was ___
Write Questions About the Data
Use data (Red=10, Blue=15, Green=7, Yellow=8) to write 4 questions and answers.
Q1: ___ A1: ___
Q2: ___ A2: ___
Q3: ___ A3: ___
Q4: ___ A4: ___
Compare Two Graphs
Compare data from two classes. Class A: Dogs=10, Cats=8. Class B: Dogs=6, Cats=12.
Which class has more dog lovers? ___
Which class has more cat lovers? ___
What is the total number of students in both classes? ___
What might explain the differences? ___
Data Investigation Report
Complete a full statistical investigation.
Investigation question: ___
Data collected (at least 5 responses): ___, ___, ___, ___, ___
I displayed the data using: ___
My conclusion: ___
Home Activity: Family Survey
Survey your family and display the results!
- 1Ask your family 5 questions (e.g. favourite food, movie, sport). Record tallies.
- 2Display results in a pictograph or bar graph.
- 3Write 3 conclusions from your data.
- 4Share your findings with the class.
Reading a Pictograph
Use the pictograph to answer each question. Each star = 2 students.
Apples: ⭐⭐⭐ Bananas: ⭐⭐ Oranges: ⭐⭐⭐⭐. How many like apples?
Which fruit was least popular?
How many students were surveyed in total?
Match Data Display to Use
Match each display type to when it is best used.
Class Data Report
Plan and report a class investigation.
Our survey question: ___
Results: Category 1: ___ Category 2: ___ Category 3: ___ Category 4: ___
Which display type did we use and why?
One conclusion from the data:
Spot the Misleading Graph
Look at this description of two graphs showing the same data.
Graph A starts the y-axis at 0. Graph B starts at 5. How does this change how the data looks?
Which graph is more honest? Why?
Sort: Fact or Opinion from Data?
Sort each statement into Fact (from data) or Opinion.
Favourite School Subject
This graph shows Year 3 students' favourite subject.
| Maths | |
| English | |
| Science | |
| Art |
What was the most popular subject?
How many more chose maths than science?
How many students were surveyed?
Home Activity: Local Data Collection
Collect data about your local area!
- 1Count the types of trees in your street. Display in a tally chart.
- 2Survey 10 people: how many hours of TV do they watch per day? Display the data.
- 3Track the types of vehicles passing your house for 15 minutes. Make a graph.
- 4Write 3 questions your data answers and share with your family.
Which Question Can a Survey Answer?
Circle Yes or No — can this question be answered by surveying students?
What is the most popular sport at our school?
How fast can a cheetah run?
How many siblings do students have?
What is the population of Australia?
Survey Total Verification
Check each survey total is correct.
Write a Survey Report
Use this data to write a short investigation report. Data: Maths=8, English=6, Science=7, Art=9.
Investigation question: ___
Total students surveyed: ___ Most popular subject: ___
Write 2 conclusions from the data:
One limitation of this survey:
Sort: Discrete or Categorical Data?
Sort each type of data into the correct column.
Year 3 Student Survey Results
Record these survey responses about favourite after-school activities.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Sport | ||
Reading | ||
Video games | ||
Drawing | ||
Music |
Improve the Survey
Critique and improve this survey question.
Original question: 'Do you like sport?' (Yes/No). What is wrong with this question?
Write an improved version with better response options:
Books Read Each Month
This graph shows books read by a student over 5 months.
| January | |
| February | |
| March | |
| April | |
| May |
Which month had the most books read?
What was the total over 5 months?
Was there an upward or downward trend in reading?
Home Activity: School Survey Project
Conduct a mini survey project!
- 1Choose a question that interests you. Survey 10 family members or neighbours.
- 2Record results in a tally chart and create a graph.
- 3Write a short report: question, data, graph, conclusion.
- 4Present your findings to your family.
What Does the Data Tell Us?
Use this data: Cats=7, Dogs=12, Fish=4, Birds=3. Circle the correct answer.
What was the most popular pet?
How many more chose dogs than cats?
How many students were surveyed in total?
Add Two Data Groups
Find the combined total for each pair.
Match: Data Question to Answer Type
Match each statistical question to the type of answer it gives.
Justify Your Graph Choice
Decide which graph type to use and explain why.
Data: Types of birds seen in the garden (sparrow=5, magpie=3, currawong=4, cockatoo=2). Which graph type suits this?
Why did you choose that graph type?
Would a tally chart also work? Why or why not?
Sort: Strong or Weak Conclusion?
Sort each conclusion based on whether the data strongly supports it.
Favourite Australian Animal
Record these student choices for favourite Australian animal.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Kangaroo | ||
Koala | ||
Platypus | ||
Wombat |
Types of Weather in April
This graph shows the weather recorded each day in April.
| Sunny | |
| Cloudy | |
| Rainy | |
| Windy |
How many days were sunny or cloudy?
Were there more rainy or windy days?
How many days are in April?
Class Comparison Investigation
Compare two classes' favourite fruit data.
Class A: Apple=8, Banana=6, Mango=4, Orange=5. Class B: Apple=5, Banana=9, Mango=7, Orange=3.
Which class likes mangoes more? ___ By how many? ___
In both classes combined, which fruit is most popular? ___
Write one conclusion that applies to both classes:
Home Activity: Community Survey
Survey your local community!
- 1Ask 5 neighbours one question (e.g. favourite season).
- 2Compare their answers with your class data.
- 3Did the community and class agree? Write about similarities and differences.
- 4Display both data sets on one graph and write a comparison.
Statistical Investigation Steps
Circle the correct step in the statistical investigation process.
What comes FIRST in an investigation?
After collecting data, you should...
The FINAL step is to...
Match Step to Example
Match each investigation step to an example.
Plan an Investigation
Plan a complete statistical investigation.
My question: ___
How I will collect data: ___
Display type I will use: ___ Why: ___
What I predict I will find: ___
Sort: Part of the Investigation or Not?
Sort each action into part of a statistical investigation or not.
Lunch Choices This Week
Record these lunch choices from a Year 3 survey.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Sandwiches | ||
Hot lunch | ||
Leftover dinner | ||
Sushi |
Evaluate an Investigation
Critique this investigation: 'I asked my 3 friends their favourite colour. Blue won with 2 votes.'
What is wrong with this investigation?
How would you improve it?
Rewrite the conclusion more accurately:
Home Activity: Real-World Statistics
Find real statistics in your world!
- 1Find 3 graphs in a newspaper or magazine. Write one conclusion from each.
- 2Look at a sports ladder. Write 3 statements using data from it.
- 3Find statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website (with a parent).
- 4Discuss: how can statistics be used to mislead people?