Comet is sorting her slips again, but these numbers are not about the Commons.
"My cousin's team scored 48, 52, 50, 55 and 90 points this season," she says. "Which number is typical?"
Wren grins. "What do you notice? You just used the same steps we used for visits."
Keeper Ines adds, "The garden club measures seedlings that way too. And the weather notes on the front desk."
Nova hovers above three piles of slips. "Interesting," she says. "Can one algorithm work in sports, weather and science?"
Comet sorts the first pile. "Let's find out."
The median algorithm has two steps: sort the values, then find the middle one.
Real-world problems can span several subjects and can be solved with computing. One example is making bike riding safer with new helmet technology.
Advances in computing have increased creativity in fields such as medicine, engineering, communications and the arts.
| Made-up data set | Values | Sorted |
|---|---|---|
| Sports: team points in five games | 48, 52, 50, 55, 90 | 48, 50, 52, 55, 90 |
| Weather: daily highs for one week (degrees) | 61, 64, 59, 66, 63, 62, 88 | 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 88 |
| Science: five seedling heights (centimeters) | 12, 14, 13, 15, 3 | 3, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
All three data sets are made up for this lesson.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| The same median algorithm works on visits, points, temperatures and heights. | ? |
| Real-world problems can span several subjects and be solved with computing. | ? |
| Computing has increased creativity only in computer science. | ? |
| The median algorithm must sort the values before it finds the middle. | ? |
| Week review | True or false? |
|---|---|
| The mean is the sum of the values divided by how many there are. | ? |
| A few extreme values can pull the mean toward the long tail. | ? |
| A data set always has exactly one mode. | ? |
| A correlation proves that one thing causes the other. | ? |
| Combining sources can help test a pattern before concluding. | ? |
Brilliant work, data analyst. Tomorrow is Mission Quest: roll a die with your family and find the middle.