Objectives:
In preparation for a science fair, I would want my students to be able to:
1. Understand how graphs present information.
2. Identify which kind of graph would be the best graph to present different types of information.
3. Use a spreadsheet.
4. Apply what they have learned in this lesson to their own projects.
Materials:
1. Access to a computer lab with a spreadsheet program on each computer.
2. Supplies for a simple lab that will be used to merely generate data for the students to work with.
Activities:
1. Have the students complete simple labs for the sake of having data to work with.
2. Discuss how graphs present different kinds of information, how to generate a specific kind of graph, how to interpret graphs, and discuss the pros and cons of each.
3. Have the students plot the data on graphs by hand.
4. In the computer lab, show students how to enter in information into a spreadsheet, and have them experiment in showing the data in different forms.
5. Students can experiment with different data sets and manipulate current data sets to see how the graph changes.
6. Discuss with the students how they can use the day’s lesson in their science fair projects, and the benefits of doing their graphs on the computer, especially if the get the opportunity to move on to the next level in the science fair competitions.
Notes and Preparations:
1. This lesson does not have to be done all in one day. It would be better to stretch it out into two or three periods (perhaps longer to ensure that the students have mastered one stage before moving on to the next one.)
2. Consider having other data sets prepared (either generated by you, or from past labs performed in the class) so that the students (a) do not have to do all the experiments to gather data for the lesson in class, and (b) have a variety of kinds of data that they can graph.
Location # Pill Bugs # Ants # Spiders
A 15 20 4
B 26 38 6
C 50 40 2
D 45 23 5
Bar graphs are a great way to show total or relative numbers of things. There are several types of bar graphs that you can do. Deciding which one is best for your data depends on the information that you are presenting and what hypothesis you are trying to support.
Temperature (Celsius)
Time (s) Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
0 23 23 23
5 24 23 25
10 26 24 28
15 28 25 31
20 31 27 36
25 35 29 43
30 38 32 50
This is a set of data that was made up to fit a line graph. Line graphs are great tools to show how the properties of a particular substance change over time.
WHO VOTED FOR CLINTON?
Reply Males Females
Yes 40 46
No 44 41
Abstain 16 13
Pie charts are wonderful visual aides. They are great for displaying information that
is expressed as a percentage or part of the whole.
