Tinkerplots IV Carryn Bellomo

What Tinkerplots Does Helps you see trends and patterns in data. Helps you make graphs and reports to present findings. There are sample data sets, or you can enter your own data (collected in class or on the internet).

Presentation Overview Overview of Tinkerplots (cat data) Entering Data Manually (finding Pi) Data from the Web (housing prices) Another Example (heaviest backpacks) Using DASL (education levels) Interesting Datasets Factors Number properties

Overview Cat Dataset

Overview – Cat Dataset Open Tinkerplots with “Cats,” located under “Science and Nature” At the top left you have data cards, 1 card for each data point. Attributes are assigned to each data point, they can be continuous or discrete. By default, data points are randomly arranged on the page.

Overview – Button Explanations Stack arranges them in a line. Order arranges them numerically or by category. Label puts their name next to the icon. The “Mix up button” randomly places the icons on the screen.

Overview – Arranging Data We want to arrange the cats by weight. Let’s order the cats by weight, and put their names by their icon: Click on the weight attribute Click on the order button, then click on the stack button Then click on the name attribute, and then the label key Who is the heaviest, the lightest?

Overview – Grouping Data Let’s make a bar graph of the cats with their body length: Select the body length attribute Pull an icon right to separate the data, and continue to pull on them until they are fully separated Then stack them, and change the icon if you like to “fused rectangular” What do you notice about the data?

Overview – Further Analyzing There seem to be two clusters of cats regarding body length. Perhaps this is related to age or gender? Click on the attribute for age. Does there seem to be a relationship? Click on the attribute for gender. Does there seem to be a relationship? How can you tell?

Overview – Further Analyzing Separate the males and females by selecting the gender attribute and dragging one of the icons up. Click on the button to see the mean, and the button for a reference line. What can you conclude?

Overview – Further Analyzing Perhaps body length is related to weight? Click on the body length attribute, and pull right to fully separate the data Click on the weight attribute, and pull up to fully separate the data What do you think about the relationship between body weight and length?

Entering Data Manually Finding Pi

Entering Data Manually Students can collect data, which you can enter manually. Open Tinkerplots Choose “new” from the file menu Click and drag a table into the screen Enter column titles: Object Circumference, and Diameter

Entering Data Manually Enter the following data:

Entering Data Manually Let’s determine if there is a relationship between circumference and diameter Click on the attribute for diameter and drag it to the horizontal axis. Click on the attribute for circumference and drag it to the vertical axis. Fully separate the data Is there a relationship? How can you tell?

Entering Data Manually We suspect that Circumference/Diameter would be a constant value. Let’s add another column with this calculation. In the table, add a new column heading. Right click on this heading, and click “Edit Formula” Under attributes, find “Circumference” double click on it. Click on the division symbol Double click on “Diameter” Click “OK” What have we learned about this relationship?

Data from the Web Population of Las Vegas

Data from the Web We can find data on housing at houses-Las-Vegas-Nevada.html Go to the site above, and find “Estimate of home value of owner-occupied houses in 2000.” We will reproduce the graph you see below the data table.

Data from the Web Get the data into Tinkerplots Open a new file Drag out a set of datacards Click on “Edit” in the menu, then “Paste Cases” What happened?

Data from the Web We need to format the data so it enters correctly. This can be done in a variety of formats, the easiest is probably notepad. The format below will allow you to paste:

Data from the Web Drag “Price” to the horizontal axis. Click on the attribute for “total” and then change the icon to “value bar vertical”. If the items are not ordered correctly. You can change the order by clicking on the label and dragging left or right. What kinds of questions can you answer with this dataset?

Another Example Heaviest Backpacks

Here we will explore the backpack weights of students The data cards given have information on First name of student Gender of student Grade level of student Weight of student in pounds Weight of student’s backpack in pounds

Heaviest Backpacks Open “Heaviest Backpacks.tp” Located in: Data and Demos  Exploring Data Starters What kind of relationships do we expect to find? How should we organize the data?

Heaviest Backpacks Investigate the Data: Is there a relationship between packweight and grade? Compare the means. Do girls tend to carry lighter backpacks than boys? Does a person who weighs more carry a heavier pack?

Using DASL Education Levels

Using DASL The Data and Story Library is a great reference to use with your classes. For the main menu, go to To find the dataset for Education, follow: “List all topics”  “Education”  “#4 Educational Attainment” This is the story behind the data. Click on “Education by Age” to see the dataset.

Using DASL Get the data into Tinkerplots: Highlight the data on the webpage (including column titles) Copy the data by holding down the Control key and pressing C Go to a blank page in Tinkerplots Pull out a stack of data cards Go to Edit, then Paste Cases

Using DASL Investigate the Data to Answer: For 1984, what age group has the most people with 4+ years of college? What age group has the most high school dropouts? To what social events can you attribute to these patterns?

Using DASL We would like a frequency distribution: Arrange the data by age group along the horizontal (put the categories in order). Click on the attribute for count, and change the icon to “value bar vertical”. Then click on the “Education” attribute. Click on “key” so you can clearly see categories.

Using DASL Just because a group has the “most” doesn’t take into account the size of the population. How can this skew our analysis and what should we do to correct for it?

Using DASL Calculate the percentage for each category Calculate the total number of people in each age group. Divide each “Count” by the “Totals” found above. Multiply by 100%.

Using DASL Make another frequency distribution by category. Do the answers to our questions change for this particular problem?

Interesting Datasets Factors

Interesting Datasets – Factors This dataset/activity explores patterns related to multiplication. The datacards contain properties of the numbers 1 to 100. Open “Factors.tp” Located in: Data and Demos  Exploring Data Starters

Interesting Datasets – Factors When we resize the plot to make it 3 units wide and click on the “factor 3” attribute, what do we notice? What is the generalization to this?

Interesting Datasets – Factors When we think of the division problem, we know 3 groups of 8 make 24. This can be simulated by making a stack 8 units wide. Clicking on the “factor 8” attribute, find 24. We see it is evenly divisible and the result is the 3 rd row! Or, make the stack 24 wide (keep “factor 8” attribute selected). What do you notice?

Interesting Datasets – Factors Experiment with this dataset on your own. What other patterns do you notice that could help your students? The file “Exploring Data.pdf” located in the “Tinkerplots Help” directory has a guided activity for you to use in your classroom.

Interesting Datasets Number Properties

Interesting Datasets – No. Properties This dataset/activity explores number properties such as perfect squares, and prime numbers. The datacards contain properties of the numbers 1 to 100. Open “Number Properties.tp” Located in: Data and Demos  Exploring Data Starters

Interesting Datasets – No. Properties What kind of patterns do you notice with your plot 4 wide and the “perfect_square” attribute selected? What other plot sizes give you good patterns for squares?

Interesting Datasets – No. Properties Select the “prime” attribute. What are some possible patterns with prime numbers?

Try It Yourself ! Investigate a topic that interests you This could be data from the internet, or Design a lesson with data you can collect with your students Share with us your ideas!

Conclusion This presentation and handouts can be found at: