Collecting and Reporting Data

1. Collecting and Reporting Data Scientific Inquiry #3

2. Vocabulary Bar Graph Circle Graph Data Line Graph Table

3. Collecting and Reporting Data Organizing data allows others to understand it quickly and accurately. Tables and graphs are useless, however, if they are not well organized and easy to read. Scientists (and you) should be able to explain data in a language that their audience will understand.

4. Collecting and Reporting Data Graphs and tables can present data in clear, scientific terms. They are especially useful for showing repeated tests, or trials. Scientists use different methods to interpret data, and then try to explain that patterns in the data that the graphs illustrate.

5. Diagrams and Symbols • A diagram is a 2D geometric symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique. • Diagrams are pictorial, yet abstract, representations of information. • Line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, and maps are all examples of diagrams. • Photographs and videos are not.

6. Line Graphs • A line graph can be used to represent a continuous relationship between two factors. • Ex. Heat and pressure. • In these cases, the scientific convention is to put the independent variable (cause) on the x-axis and dependent variable (effect) on the y-axis.

7. Line Graphs Line graphs are also commonly used to show changes and trends over time or space. When multiple factors are involved , they can both be plotted on the same graph using more than one line.

8. Bar Graphs • A bar graph is good for comparing data on similar things. • In a bar graph, a value is represented by the height of a vertical column, or the length of a horizontal column. • This allows for very quick inspection of the data, without having to make mental calculations about values.

9. Bar Graphs

10. Circle Graph • This type of graph is also called a pie chart. • These graphs show parts of a whole.

11. Tables • A table is useful for presenting information in pure form. • In a table, the information is arranged in rows and columns, which makes it easy to find one particular piece of information if it is needed for reference.

12. Tables • One advantage of a table over a graph is that the information can be obtained by just looking in the correct part of the table. • The information in a graph requires some interpretation. Data for Jupiter’s Four Largest Moons

13. Maps • A mapis a picture or representation of the Earth's surface, showing how things are related to each other by distance, direction, and size. • Maps are a way of showing many things about a portion of the earth's surface on a flat piece of paper that can be carried and transported easily.

14. Maps • A map is not a photograph of the Earth's surface. • It can show many things that a picture cannot show, and as a result, a map looks different in many ways from a photograph of the Earth's surface.

15. Types of Maps • Topographic maps • Geologic maps • Biogeographic maps • Environmental: • Physiographic • Meteorological