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13.01 Types of data

Worksheet
Types of data
1

State whether the following data are numerical or categorical:

a

Amount owing on layby.

b

Types of vegetables.

c

Brands of tablets.

d

Types of folders.

e

Colours of folders.

f

Brands of phones.

g

Maximum snowfall.

h

Daily UV index.

i

Types of dogs.

j

Favourite colours.

k

Cost of a PS4 game.

l

Types of fruits.

2

State whether the following examples of numerical data are discrete or continuous:

a

The number of classrooms in your school.

b

Daily humidity.

c

The ages of a group of people.

d

The time taken to run 200 metres.

e

Amount of money paid for walking the dog.

f

The number of people taller than you in your class.

g

The top speed of different models of motorcycles.

h

The size of people's rare coin collections.

i

Lengths of cats' whiskers.

j

The distance from the Earth to nearby galaxies.

k

How long it takes you to fall asleep at night.

l

The amount of soft drink you drink in a day.

m

The number of cans of soft drink you drink in a day.

n

The world record time for solving ten Rubik's cubes.

o

The hourly pay rate for a particular job.

p

The rainfall in your city.

q

Number of children in your sports team.

r

Amount of money owing on a loan.

s

Your marks in your most recent Science test.

t

The number of views that a YouTube channel has.

u

The strength of an earthquake

3

For each of the following survey questions, classify the answer as categorical, discrete numerical or continuous numerical data:

a

How far do you travel to school each day?

b

Where was your most recent holiday?

c

How many siblings do you have?

d

What modes of transport do you use to get to school?

e

How long did you sleep for last night?

f

How many people live in your house?

g

How long does it take for you to get to school everyday?

h

What languages do you speak at home?

i

What kinds of pets do you own?

j

How many pets do you own?

k

How many times have you broken your arm?

l

How long did you spend on homework last night?

m

How tall are you?

n

How much does your schoolbag weigh?

o

How many apps do you have in your phone?

p

Do you think recess is long enough?

Tables
4

Consider the given data set that shows the distance to the nearest hospital (in \text{km}):

26.4, \quad 28.7, \quad 15.1, \quad 37.5, \quad 11.8, \quad 7.9, \quad 16.7, \quad 6.9, \quad 5, \quad 24.9, \quad 35.3, \quad 45.5
a

Is the data type continuous or discrete?

b

What is the farthest distance to the nearest hospital?

5

Glen surveys his class about their favourite movie genre. His results are shown in the table:

Genre\text{Drama}\text{Comedy}\text{Action}\text{Horror}
Students5762
a

What type of data is displayed in the table?

b

Which genre is the most popular among his class?

c

How many people did Glen survey?

6

Ten people were asked about the number of hours they spent outside last weekend. The results of the survey are shown:

5, \quad 9, \quad 9, \quad 4, \quad 6, \quad 9, \quad 4, \quad 9, \quad 6, \quad 4
a

What type of data is this?

b

How many people spent exactly 6 hours outside?

c

What was the longest that anyone spent outside?

d

What was the most common amount of time spent outside?

7

Ten people were asked about the number and type of pets they own. The results of the survey are shown below:

Twelve fish Three turtles Two cats Two cats One dog
One dog One dog, One cat One cat Five ferrets One dog
a

What type of data is the type of pet?

b

How many cats do these ten people own altogether?

c

How many pets do these ten people own altogether?

d

What is the most common survey response?

Question biases
8

State whether the following questions are biased or fair?

a

Do you want a soup for lunch or a sandwich?

b

What do you do on a Sunday morning?

c

Do you like these shoes?

d

Do you prefer this shirt or the one on the shelves at the moment?

e

Do you think the government should be allowed to cut down some of the oldest trees in the area to construct a metro railway line in the city?

f

Do you prefer newspapers or news on television?

g

Do you prefer the full time degree program or part time degree program?

h

Should the government enforce a minimum drinking age for its citizens?

i

Do you eat at least the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables to ensure a healthy and long life?

j

Do you think bike helmets should be mandatory for all bike riders?

k

Do you prefer the natural beauty of hardwood floors in your home?

l

Do you exercise regularly?

m

Do you feel that the TV news is an inaccurate portrayal of life’s problems?

n

Don't you think this newspaper is biased?

o

Do you prefer the look and feel of thick lush carpeting in your living room?

p

Do you take these extra strength multi-vitamins to supplement your diet?

9

Explain why the following survey questions are poor:

a

The Prime Minister believes that taxes are too high, do you think taxes are too high?

b

Do you have a Snapchat or Twitter account?

c

Do your siblings ever drive you to school?

d

Do you often waste time on social media?

e

What brand of shoe polish do you use everyday?

10

Patricia surveys her class about their favourite music. Her results are shown in the table:

Genre\text{Country}\text{Pop}
No. Students152
a

According to the survey, which genre is most popular among her class?

b

This was her survey question:

"The coolest kids like Country music, and nobody likes Pop. Do you like Country music or Pop music?"

Do you trust the results of Patricia's survey? Explain your answer.

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Outcomes

VCMSP268

Identify and investigate issues involving numerical data collected from primary and secondary sources

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