Activity: Creating Tables and Graphs

  1. Creating Data Tables

A DATA TABLEis an organized way to collect and record experimental data so important information will be recorded accurately.

In your journal, for questions 1 and 2, complete the following:

  • Write an if…, then….hypothesis
  • Identify the manipulated and responding variables
  • Construct a data table to organize the data in the paragraph
  1. James planted 12 bean plants in paper cups. He watered half of the plants with rainwater from the barrel in the yard. The other half of the beans were watered with tap water. The six plants watered with rainwater grew over the two weeks: Plant 1—2 inches, Plant 2—3.2 inches, Plant 3—1 inch, Plant 4—3.2 inches, Plant 5—4 inches, and Plant 6—3 inches. The six plants watered with tap water grew over the two weeks: Plant 1—1.5 inches, Plant 2—2 inches, Plant 3—1 inch, Plant 4—2 inches, Plant 5—2 inches, and Plant 6—2 inches.
  1. A rectangular tray containing 20 mealworms was placed to rest on top of 3 plastic bags containing hot water at 60oC from the tap, room temperature water at 26 oC, and cold water at 5 oC fro the refrigerator. The mealworms were allowed to migrate to the temperature of their choosing. Six mealworms migrated to the area over the plastic bag of cold water, 12 to the room temperature plastic bag, and 2 migrated to the plastic bag of hot water.
  1. Creating Bar Graphs (X-Axis is different categories)

A BAR GRAPH is a graph with bars that compares items, especially averages, calculated numbers and totals.

X-Axis –shows the manipulated variable and has each bar labeled for the data

Y-Axis –shows the responding variable in a scale which evenly divides the line from the smallest to largest value in the data

In your journal, for questions 3 and 4, complete the following:

  • Create a bar graph—be sure to follow the rules for constructing a bar graph
  • Be sure to include the title and labels for each axis
  1. At the airport in Denver, there was a statistician conducting a survey of types of recreational sports that people had enjoyed while in Colorado during the summer. He surveyed people who were leaving on the planes to return home after a vacation. The survey results were as follows:

Sports Enjoyed / Number of People
Mountain Climbing / 60
Walking / 120
Running / 75
Swimming / 30
Bicycling / 45
Aerobics / 15
  1. The school cafeteria wanted to compare the number of students who purchased their lunch versus those who brought a sack lunch. The counts for last week were as follows:

Day of the Week / Purchased Lunch / Brought Lunch
Monday / 160 / 60
Tuesday / 60 / 80
Wednesday / 100 / 100
Thursday / 140 / 60
Friday / 120 / 40
  1. Creating Line Graphs (X-Axis is continuous data)

A LINE GRAPH is a graph that allows one to compare two sets of data showing a continuous change. A line graph can show patterns and trends in the data that has been collected at different times. Unlike a bar graph, a line graph can have several sets of data plotted on them to easily show a comparison.

X-Axis—shows the manipulated variable

Y-Axis—shows the responding variable

In your journal, for questions 5 and 6, complete the following:

  • Create a line graph—be sure to follow the rules for constructing a line graph
  • Be sure to include the title and labels for each axis
  1. Southdale School’s Recycling Drive went on from September to February. During the drive, the students collected aluminum cans and glass bottles. At the final assembly, the principal would be reporting the number of pounds of items recycled each month. He needed to construct a line graph to show the students the following information.

Month / Sept / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb
Pounds / 40 / 20 / 80 / 60 / 120 / 140
  1. The fifth graders at Nottingham Elementary School were going on a school trip. To earn money, they collected and recycled glass containers from their homes. The chart below shows the number of each type of glass collected by five of the students.

Student / Brown Glass / Green Glass / Clear Glass
Tom / 12 / 15 / 20
Vicki / 15 / 22 / 5
Pedro / 14 / 13 / 11
Florence / 25 / 16 / 24
Yossi / 6 / 18 / 36