MDM4U- Mathematics of Data Management
Activity #1
Census at School Data
The data below was collected by Census at School. The data was collected as part of an international educational project in which schools participated voluntarily.
The survey was answered by 6,220 elementary and secondary students across Canada during the 2020/2021 school year. The elementary category includes grades 4 to 8 (secondary 2 in Quebec) and the secondary category includes grades 9 to 12 (secondary 3 to 5 in Quebec).
1. Graphing the Data:
(a) Consider the data above. Think about what type of data it is? Create appropriate graphs for both questions which accurately represent the data. Be sure to show all of your work.
(b) Now try to create a graph for one question which misrepresents the data.
2. Thinking about the Data:
(a) Do you think that this data is representative of elementary and secondary students? Why or why not?
(b) If the data is not representative, suggest a way to collect the data that would make it more representative.
3. Drawing Conclusions from the Data:
(a) Who would want to collect such data? What could this data be useful for?
(b) Imagine that you work for the Ministry of Education and that you need to allocate funding for schools. Based on the data above, give an argument to suggest which area or areas the government should fund more.