What kind of question am I asking? Data Literacy Project Mini-lesson 1 (Instruction)

Scientists make observations and measurements (collect data) with a question in mind. a.Which chemical is most lethal to fish? b.Is the number of registered cell phones correlated with gross national income? c.Has monthly household electricity use in our town decreased over the last year? d.? e.?

There are THREE kinds of questions that students are most likely to encounter in high school and college science courses! Compare two or more groups in a single variable Correlation: See how strongly two variables are correlated with each other Time series: See how a measurement changes through time More…Think/pair/share

1.Which car manufacturer makes the most fuel-efficient fleet of vehicles, Chevrolet or Toyota? 2.Has Penobscot Bay warmed over the last 10 years? 3.Which beam shape supports the most weight? 4.How tall is this tree? 5.Is there a relationship between wind speed andair pressure? a.Compares groups b.Correlation c.Time series d.Not a statistical question What kind of question is each of the following?

1.Which car manufacturer makes the most fuel-efficient fleet of vehicles, Chevrolet or Toyota? Compares two groups of cars in mpg rating. 2.Has Penobscot Bay warmed over the last 10 years? Time series, (how water temperature (e.g. mean annual or mean monthly temp) changed through time). 3.Which beam shape supports the most weight? Compares groups. An engineer would test several beams of each type. Beam shape is categorical data (e.g. I-beam, or flat beam, or a round beam), and is not continuous numeric data (e.g. 1,2,3, etc.), so it can’t be about a correlation between two numeric factors. 4.How tall is this tree ? Not a statistical question 5.Is there a relationship between wind speed and air pressure? Correlation; both wind speed and air pressure are numeric factors. Answers to: What kind of question is each of the following?

1.How did the heights of the bean plants change over the last two weeks? 2.What was the score of the Red Sox game? 3.Is mercury content in fish related to fish weight? 4.Do cats and dogs have the same resting pulse rate? 5.Which region has the most severe earthquakes, Japan or Alaska? a.Compares groups b.Correlation c.Time series d.Not a statistical question For PRACTICE! What kind of question is each of the following?

Write one question of each type that is about something that interests you. Compare two or more groups in a single variable Correlation: See how strongly two variables are correlated with each other Time series: See how a measurement changes through time (What measurements would you need to investigate each of your questions?)