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Data and Society 9-12 / Week 04 / Wednesday
3/6
Week 04 · Collecting and Recording

Wednesday

Count Lab: Tally and table
// One row per member, one column per question
⏱ about 20 min

Wednesday: Count Lab: Tally and Table

It is the end of the collection week. All 40 answers to Q2, "When do you usually visit?", sit in a neat stack.

Comet rubs her hands together. "I bet evening wins. Everyone I see comes in the evening."

Wren raises an eyebrow. "You come in the evening. What do you notice about who you see?"

Comet laughs. "Fair point. I only see the evening people."

Nova hovers over the stack and projects four empty boxes: morning, afternoon, evening, weekend.

"Would you like a hint?" she asks. "Make your prediction first. Then let the tally answer."

Comet grabs a pencil. "Our data analyst should predict too."

Your mission

You will turn 40 Q2 answers into a tally and a frequency table.

A frequency table lists each answer and how many times it was given. Its total must match the number of rows.

  • A sheet of paper and a pencil
  • A ruler for straight lines
  • The Q2 answer list below
Predict first
Before you tally, write your prediction at the top of your paper.
Which Q2 answer will be the biggest group? Comet says evening.
  1. On your paper, write four labels down the left side: morning, afternoon, evening, weekend.
  2. Read the first answer in the list below.
  3. Make one tally mark next to its label.
  4. Draw every fifth mark across the four before it, so marks group in fives.
  5. Repeat for all 40 answers, crossing each one off as you go.
  6. Count the marks for each label and write the number.
  7. Add the four numbers and check that the total is 40.
M01 to M10M11 to M20M21 to M30M31 to M40
M01 eveningM11 weekendM21 morningM31 evening
M02 afternoonM12 eveningM22 morningM32 afternoon
M03 eveningM13 afternoonM23 afternoonM33 evening
M04 weekendM14 eveningM24 eveningM34 morning
M05 eveningM15 morningM25 morningM35 afternoon
M06 afternoonM16 morningM26 eveningM36 weekend
M07 morningM17 eveningM27 afternoonM37 weekend
M08 eveningM18 afternoonM28 weekendM38 evening
M09 afternoonM19 eveningM29 eveningM39 afternoon
M10 eveningM20 weekendM30 morningM40 weekend

This is made-up data from the Commons Count story.

CHECK YOUR FREQUENCY TABLE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
How many members said morning?
How many members said evening?
How many members said weekend?
Afternoon had 10. What is 8 plus 10 plus 15 plus 7?
Marks grouped in fives to count quickly are called a ____. Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEA tally is the fastest honest way to count answers by hand.
On paper, copy your frequency table neatly, with columns for the answer, the tally and the number.
Think about it
Comet predicted evening because she sees the evening members. She was right this time.
A prediction is still not evidence. The tally is the evidence.

Great lab work, data analyst. Tomorrow you will label every sheet with data about the data.

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