Friday, May 22, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Reading tables/graphs
In this lesson we will learn what to do with a table or a bar graph which contains mathematical data.
THE PURPOSE of a table or a graph is to ORGANIZE data to allow an ANALYSIS of the data to enable the mathematician to make good DECISIONS based upon COLLECTED data.
An example of a table that you are already using but probably did not even know about - is located in your cell phone. Your phone contains phone numbers of everyone that you know.
If these numbers were recorded on paper, they would be written down beside a name to identify who the number belonged to just like "the table" that you see below.
This is an extremely simple table, whose PURPOSE is to organize a series of phone numbers into a list that correctly associates a unique number to a specific name.
Now what I have done for you is to combine a BAR GRAPH and a TABLE to show how the data (information) that each one of these graphs/tables contain can be ORGANIZED and ANALYZED to determine (in this example) who owns the most pets.
Do you recognize that . . .
1) the numbers 7, 2, 1 and 4 are all WHOLE NUMBERS.
2) each number shown is a DIGIT.
3) the PLACE VALUE of each DIGIT is positioned in the ONES PLACE.
How many pets does Jane own? The bar graph indicates "4". The table also indicates that she owns "4" pets.
Notice how the length of the BAR on the GRAPH corresponds to the number below her name in the TABLE.
Both the BAR GRAPH and the TABLE tell us the same thing - and even though each one says the same thing - they ORGANIZE the data differently.
I want to throw one more concept into the lesson at this point CHARTS.
What does a glass of lemon aid, a glass of water and a soft drink all have in common?
They all taste different but all three will quench our thirst.
A TABLE, A BAR GRAPH and A CHART all do the same thing, they just "taste" different.
The PURPOSE of TABLE, a BAR GRAPH and a CHART is to ORGANIZE data (numbers) to allow someone to ANALYZE them.
So you might be wondering "What is so important about ANALYZING data?" You need to PRETEND here for just a moment. I know with all of the electronic "things" that we use now-a-days that the IMAGINATION is not needed very often . . . BUT try to find yours and SUPPOSE that you have pet allergies really really bad. (which means that you are allergic to animal dander)
In case you don't know what DANDER is - it is skin cells similar to dandruff and some of us humans are sensitive to pet dander.
Well in our PRETEND problem - we are considering purchasing a house on Elm Street. We are bad allergic to pet dander, so it is really important to us, to know how many pets are living on Elm Street before we buy a house and move there ourselves.
The TABLE organized the data showing us the number of pets per neighbor, the BAR GRAPH organizes the information a little differently - we can tell at a glance who has the most pets (the long bar gets the prize). The CHART does exactly the same thing as the TABLE and BAR GRAPH - it is just a matter of preference.
Before we leave this lesson - I think it is important for us not to look at a TABLE, GRAPH or CHART that has already been completed for us, but that we create one of these ourselves.
Suppose you are given the following information and your goal (job) is to organize all of the data in the following paragraph so that it can be analyzed easily (at a glance).
Billy Bob is a cattle rancher who lives in Texas. Sally Sue is a doctor who lives in Alabama. Mary Jane is a teacher who lives in Oklahoma. Billy Bob lives with a wife and five children, Sally Sue lives with a husband and three children and Mary Jane lives with a husband and four children.
How would we ORGANIZE the data given to us in this paragraph so that we could tell "at a glance" which of the three states mentioned has the largest family living in it?
Step #1 -- create a table so you can ORGANIZE all of the information.
This TABLE does contain all of the necessary information BUT it is difficult to determine the answer to the question "at a glance"; therefore we will take step #2 and REORGANIZE the data above into a form that is easier to ANALYZE.
It should obvious to us now "at a glance" which state has the largest family living in it. All three methods organize the data, but each one organizes it just a little bit differently than the others. Some of prefer lemon aid, some prefer water and others prefer a soft drink . . . which one is really better - you decide . . . they all serve the same purpose.
THE PURPOSE of a table or a graph is to ORGANIZE data to allow an ANALYSIS of the data to enable the mathematician to make good DECISIONS based upon COLLECTED data.
An example of a table that you are already using but probably did not even know about - is located in your cell phone. Your phone contains phone numbers of everyone that you know.
If these numbers were recorded on paper, they would be written down beside a name to identify who the number belonged to just like "the table" that you see below.
Fred
|
479-555-1212
|
Tom
|
897-555-4789
|
Sally
|
149-555-5789
|
Jane
|
532-555-4782
|
This is an extremely simple table, whose PURPOSE is to organize a series of phone numbers into a list that correctly associates a unique number to a specific name.
Now what I have done for you is to combine a BAR GRAPH and a TABLE to show how the data (information) that each one of these graphs/tables contain can be ORGANIZED and ANALYZED to determine (in this example) who owns the most pets.
1) the numbers 7, 2, 1 and 4 are all WHOLE NUMBERS.
2) each number shown is a DIGIT.
3) the PLACE VALUE of each DIGIT is positioned in the ONES PLACE.
How many pets does Jane own? The bar graph indicates "4". The table also indicates that she owns "4" pets.
Notice how the length of the BAR on the GRAPH corresponds to the number below her name in the TABLE.
Both the BAR GRAPH and the TABLE tell us the same thing - and even though each one says the same thing - they ORGANIZE the data differently.
I want to throw one more concept into the lesson at this point CHARTS.
What does a glass of lemon aid, a glass of water and a soft drink all have in common?
They all taste different but all three will quench our thirst.
A TABLE, A BAR GRAPH and A CHART all do the same thing, they just "taste" different.
The PURPOSE of TABLE, a BAR GRAPH and a CHART is to ORGANIZE data (numbers) to allow someone to ANALYZE them.
So you might be wondering "What is so important about ANALYZING data?" You need to PRETEND here for just a moment. I know with all of the electronic "things" that we use now-a-days that the IMAGINATION is not needed very often . . . BUT try to find yours and SUPPOSE that you have pet allergies really really bad. (which means that you are allergic to animal dander)
In case you don't know what DANDER is - it is skin cells similar to dandruff and some of us humans are sensitive to pet dander.
Well in our PRETEND problem - we are considering purchasing a house on Elm Street. We are bad allergic to pet dander, so it is really important to us, to know how many pets are living on Elm Street before we buy a house and move there ourselves.
The TABLE organized the data showing us the number of pets per neighbor, the BAR GRAPH organizes the information a little differently - we can tell at a glance who has the most pets (the long bar gets the prize). The CHART does exactly the same thing as the TABLE and BAR GRAPH - it is just a matter of preference.
Before we leave this lesson - I think it is important for us not to look at a TABLE, GRAPH or CHART that has already been completed for us, but that we create one of these ourselves.
Suppose you are given the following information and your goal (job) is to organize all of the data in the following paragraph so that it can be analyzed easily (at a glance).
Billy Bob is a cattle rancher who lives in Texas. Sally Sue is a doctor who lives in Alabama. Mary Jane is a teacher who lives in Oklahoma. Billy Bob lives with a wife and five children, Sally Sue lives with a husband and three children and Mary Jane lives with a husband and four children.
How would we ORGANIZE the data given to us in this paragraph so that we could tell "at a glance" which of the three states mentioned has the largest family living in it?
Step #1 -- create a table so you can ORGANIZE all of the information.
Texas
|
Billy Bob + Wife + five children
|
Oklahoma
|
Sally Sue + Husband + three children
|
Alabama
|
Mary Jane + Husband + four children
|
This TABLE does contain all of the necessary information BUT it is difficult to determine the answer to the question "at a glance"; therefore we will take step #2 and REORGANIZE the data above into a form that is easier to ANALYZE.
It should obvious to us now "at a glance" which state has the largest family living in it. All three methods organize the data, but each one organizes it just a little bit differently than the others. Some of prefer lemon aid, some prefer water and others prefer a soft drink . . . which one is really better - you decide . . . they all serve the same purpose.
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