What Is Data?
We see information around us every day. We may know how many children are in a class, which fruit someone likes, or how many books are on a table.
Information that we collect to learn about something is called data. Data can help us count, compare and understand things more clearly.
Learning Objectives
- Understand what data means.
- Recognise simple examples of data.
- Understand that data can be collected.
- Use simple data to answer questions.
Understanding Data
Data is information that we collect about people, objects, choices or things around us.
This shows information about different fruits.
If we count the fruits, we can find out how many apples, bananas and oranges there are. This information is data.
Examples of Data
We can collect data about many simple things.
- The number of children in a class.
- The favourite colours of children.
- The number of pencils in a box.
- The types of fruits in a basket.
Why Do We Use Data?
Data helps us answer questions. When we collect and count information, we can compare different groups and find out what happens most or least often.
We can see that more children chose red than blue.
Common Mistakes
- Do not think that data is only made of numbers.
- Remember that collected information can be data.
- Count carefully when collecting information.
Practice
1. What is data?
2. Name one example of data.
3. Can the number of pencils in a box be data?
4. Why do we collect data?
Try It Yourself
Look at five objects around you. Write down what the objects are and count how many objects belong to each type.
Quick Revision
- Data is information that we collect.
- Data can be about people, objects or choices.
- We can count and compare data.
- Data helps us answer simple questions.
Next Step
Now that you understand what data means, the next lesson will show you how to collect simple information.