1. © Nuffield Foundation 2011 Nuffield Free-Standing Mathematics Activity Outdoor Gig

2. © Nuffield Foundation 2011 How important is the weather for organising an outdoor gig? Which month has the best chance of good weather for an outdoor gig? In this activity you will use data from past years to find out. Wet Sunny Hot

3. © Nuffield Foundation 2011 Total monthly hours of sunshine for the years 2001 – 2010 YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 2001 74.586.790.2134.6226.2192.7190.0177.8113.8103.665.875.4 2002 41.275.3112.4189.4180.2163.5163.9158.3154.693.455.334.3 2003 70.595.3165.2191.3189.9209.4172.5207.6166.0130.367.452.1 2004 49.588.3108.2133.3204.6198.2166.0173.8155.795.947.952.1 2005 56.472.079.5146.9216.6190.8178.4210.6150.681.190.857.0 2006 51.068.397.4160.4173.1229.7287.6151.4157.595.693.145.8 2007 60.570.4153.9216.5167.1149.8179.7198.1149.3109.471.251.2 2008 47.8118.2120.0153.9193.0199.3184.9112.8114.6122.556.666.4 2009 56.955.6153.2170.3212.7202.0177.1173.5142.890.265.762.2 2010 60.960.1125.8201.8204.8238.8152.1148.8138.8120.371.553.8 Think about Why is it difficult to see which is the sunniest month? Which months are obviously not the sunniest?

4. © Nuffield Foundation 2011 Think about Why is the mean a good representative value? When might the median be better? You can use the mean and range to compare how sunny the months are. This average is the sum of all the data items divided by the number of data items. Mean The range is the difference between the largest value and the smallest value. Range It measures how varied the values are.

5. © Nuffield Foundation 2011 Using a spreadsheet to find the mean and range use SUM to add up all the values, then divide by the number of values or use AVERAGE use MAX – MIN To find the mean: To find the range: Try this Find the mean and range for May, June, July and August.

6. Comparing mean and range values: MayJuneJulyAugust Mean196.8197.4185.2171.3 Range59.189.0135.597.8 Think about Compare the results. What do they tell you about the amount of sunshine? Work out means and ranges for rainfall and temperature. Write a short report. Decide which month you think is best for an outdoor gig and say why. Try this Total monthly hours of sunshine (2001 – 2010)

7. Outdoor Gig At the end of the activity How do you work out the mean on a spreadsheet? How do you work out the range on a spreadsheet? Can you predict next year’s weather reliably from previous data? Why is it a good representative value? What is measured by the range?