Every card in Statistics, Year 7: asking questions of data
The whole deck, in order — so you can read it through before your child ever sees it.
- What is the first stage of the data-handling cycle?
Posing a question
HintYou cannot collect anything until you know what you want to find out.
WhyWhat you ask decides what data to collect, from whom, and how to present it. Without it, a chart is only decoration.
- In the data-handling cycle, what is the final stage, after the data has been collected and presented?
Interpreting the results
HintIt means deciding what the charts are telling you.
WhyInterpreting means saying what the results show and what they do not. It often raises a new question, which is why it is called a cycle.
- Which question can data actually answer: 'Is football good?' or 'Do more Year 7s at our school play football than netball?'
'Do more Year 7s at our school play football than netball?'
HintChoose the one you could settle by counting.
WhyA statistical question names who is being asked about and what will be counted. 'Good' is an opinion that no tally can settle.
- A survey of 20 pupils in one class finds that most walk to school. Can you conclude that most pupils in the country walk to school?
No — the sample is too small and from one place
HintAsk who was left out.
WhyTwenty pupils from one class tell you about that class. A different school, in the countryside for example, could give a very different result.
- You want to know the favourite lunch of pupils at your school. Would asking only your friends give trustworthy data?
No — friends are not a fair sample of the school
HintPeople who sit together often like the same things.
WhyA sample should represent everyone the question is about. Your friends are probably your age and may share your tastes.
- A bus leaves at 09:45 and arrives at 10:20. How long is the journey?
35 minutes
HintCount up to the hour, then on.
WhyFrom 09:45 to 10:00 is 15 minutes, and from 10:00 to 10:20 is another 20. That makes 35.
- Buses leave the station at 14:05, 14:35 and 15:05. You arrive at 14:40. How long must you wait?
25 minutes
HintFind the first departure after you arrive.
WhyThe 14:35 has already gone, so the next bus is the 15:05. From 14:40 to 15:05 is 25 minutes.
- A footnote under a table says 'prices in pence'. A cell reads 250. What is the price in pounds?
£2.50
HintThe note under the table changes the unit.
Why250p ÷ 100 = £2.50. Units and footnotes are part of the table, and they are easy to miss.
- Four friends have 3, 5, 6 and 10 sweets. If they shared them out equally, how many would each get?
6
HintPool everything, then deal it out.
Why3 + 5 + 6 + 10 = 24 sweets, and 24 ÷ 4 = 6 each. This equal share is exactly what the mean is.
- The mean of 5 numbers is 8. What is their total? (number only)
40
HintReverse the sharing.
WhyIf five numbers level out at 8 each, they must add up to 5 × 8 = 40. Total = mean × count.
1★ KS3-MATH-STA-0032
2★ KS3-MATH-STA-0033
3★ KS3-MATH-STA-0034
4★ KS3-MATH-STA-0035
5★ KS3-MATH-STA-0036
6★ KS3-MATH-STA-0037
7★ KS3-MATH-STA-0038
8★ KS3-MATH-STA-0039
9★ KS3-MATH-STA-0040
10★ KS3-MATH-STA-0041
Keep what you learn
Here, nothing is saved. In your child’s own sky every card is scheduled — it comes back just before they’d forget it — and the professor who wrote it is one tap away.