Collecting and Organizing Data
Basics on the topic Collecting and Organizing Data
Collecting and Organizing Data
What is collecting and organizing data? Data is information we can collect and sort to help us organize and understand facts, numbers, and measurements. We can practice collecting data in two ways:
The first way is by observing, which means using our eyes to look at the data. The second way is to ask questions to collect more information about the data.
Collecting and Organizing Data – Example
Sometimes when we collect data there is a lot and it's hard to answer questions if the information is all mixed up. If we organize data into a chart, that can help answer questions more easily. For example, if we need to find out how many circles there are we first organize the shapes by putting them into categories.
Now that we've organized the shapes into categories, we can look at the data with our eyes to find the answer. Even though we see circles, squares, and triangles, always remember what the question is asking: how many circles are there?
| Shape | Number |
|---|---|
| Squares | 3 |
| Triangles | 3 |
| Circles | 3 |
If you look at the chart and count, you will see that there are three circles!
Collecting and Organizing Data – Summary
Data is information we can collect and sort to help us understand facts, numbers, and measurements. Sometimes the data is mixed up so we organize it into categories to help us answer questions about the data.
Want some more collecting and organizing data practice? On this website there is a collecting and organizing data worksheet along with other activities, and exercises.
Transcript Collecting and Organizing Data
"Nice hit Gus!" "Before we start eating, let's organize and collect data on the candy so we can share it fair and square." "Collecting and Organizing Data". Data , also known as data ... is information we can collect... and sort to help us organize and understand facts, numbers, and measurements. How do we collect data? (...) We can collect data in two ways. The first way is by observing, which means using our eyes to look at the data. The second way is to ask questions to collect more information about the data. Sometimes when we've collected a lot of data, it's hard to answer questions if the information is all mixed up. Organizing the data in a chart can help answer questions more easily. For example, if we need to find out how many circles there are... we first organize the shapes by putting them into categories. What different shapes do you see? (...) There are squares, (...) triangles, (...) and circles. Let's organize them into a chart. We can put all the squares here, (...) the triangles here, (...) and the circles here. Now that we've organized the shapes into categories, we can look at the data with our eyes to find the answer. Even though we see circles, squares, and triangles, always remember what the question is asking: how many CIRCLES are there? Let's count the circles together (...) one (...) two (...) three! There are three circles. Now that we've practiced organizing and collecting data let's help Gus and Nari! They need help figuring out how many pieces of candy they have... but it's all mixed up with the bouncy balls and rubber ducks! Let's use THIS chart to organize the shapes into different categories! We can put all the rubber ducks here, (...) the bouncy balls here, (...) and the candy here. Even though we see bouncy balls, rubber ducks, and candy, always remember what the question is asking: how many pieces of CANDY do they have? (...) Let's count together (...) one (...) two (...) three (...) four (...) five (...) six (...) seven (...) eight! Gus and Nari will share eight pieces of candy. Before they do that, let's remember. Data is information we can collect and sort to help us understand facts, numbers, and measurements. Sometimes the data is mixed up so... we organize it into categories to help us answer questions about the data. "Alright Gus, now that we've sorted the candy we can..." "Gus! That wasn't candy, that was a rubber duck!"
Collecting and Organizing Data exercise
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Highlight the data.
HintsThe food items are our data. We are organizing it using different colored highlighters.
SolutionHere we can see each food item highlighted to help us to organize our data.
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How many of each item are there?
HintsLook at how many of each item is highlighted. Remember:
- tomatoes are highlighted in green.
- cheese is highlighted in blue.
- meatballs are highlighted in yellow.
We can see 6 tomatoes.
Solution- There are 6 tomatoes.
- There are 3 meatballs.
- There are 5 pieces of cheese.
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Answer the questions using the data.
HintsTo find how many of each item there are you can read the number from the table.
To find out how many more tomatoes there are than pieces of cheese we need to subtract 5 (pieces of cheese) from 6 (tomatoes).
- 6 - 5 = ?
To find out how many fewer meatballs there are than pieces of cheese we need to subtract 3 (meatballs) from 5 (pieces of cheese).
- 5 - 3 = ?
To find out how many food items there are altogether we need to add each total.
- 6 + 3 + 5 = ?
Solution- How many tomatoes are there? 6
- How many meatballs are there? 3
- How many pieces of cheese are there? 5
- How many more tomatoes than pieces of cheese are there? 1
- How many fewer meatballs than pieces of cheese are there? 2
- How many food items are there altogether? 14
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Have Nari and Gus organized their data correctly?
HintsCount how many of each type of candy you can see.
Does the number you counted match Nari and Gus'? If not, highlight it.
SolutionNari and Gus had miscounted a few of their data points.
- There were 7 gummy bears, not 8, so that was incorrect.
- There were 5 lollipops, so that was correct.
- There were 8 red sweets, not 7, so that was incorrect
- There were 4 yellow sweets, not 3, so that was incorrect.
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How many blue pieces of candy are there?
HintsRemember, it is just the total of the blue pieces of candy that you are looking for here.
You are looking for all of the pieces of candy like this one, how many are there altogether?
SolutionThere are 5 blue pieces of candy.
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Can you assign the data correctly?
HintsCarefully count each item. Maybe you could create a table like this before you assign each item.
Once you know how many of each flower there are, you can assign it to the correct number.
SolutionHere are the totals of each flower.
- There were 8 tulips.
- There were 7 daffodils.
- There were 8 daisies.
- There were 3 roses.
