Embedded Files
Introduction
Introduction
In this lesson you will:
create and interpret the line of best fit to draw inferences and make predictions
practise describing the correlation between the data
apply your skills to the case of honey bee colony collapse.
Activity 1 - Comparing arm span and height
Activity 1 - Comparing arm span and height
If you stand tall and stretch your arms out horizontally to your left and right, your arm span is the length from the tip of your fingers on your left hand to the tip of your fingers on your right hand.
This activity explores the relationship between a person’s height and their arm span. Using the Google Docs template and the Desmos interactive, you will need to create and interpret the line of best fit to draw inferences and make predictions.
Show all your working
Use the activity template to complete the following tasks.
Click on the button to open a new tab and view the Google Doc.
Click on the Use Template button to create a copy for you to edit.
In the Desmos activity, Arm span vs height, the arm span and height were measured for 24 people. This data is shown in the table and plotted on the scatter plot.
Open the Desmos interactive in a new tab by clicking on the image below. If the folder tab is open on the left hand side of the screen close it so you can see the graph in full screen.
Activity 2 - David and Goliath
Activity 2 - David and Goliath
The following Desmos activity, David and Goliath, shows some data on the top performing male and female shot putters of all time. When the page opens you can see the data for the male athletes.
The graph shows their weight (kg) and the distance (m) that they threw.
Show all your working
Use the activity template to complete the following tasks.
Click on the button to open a new tab and view the Google Doc.
Click on the Use Template button to create a copy for you to edit.
Note: This task has been adapted from the NRICH task David and Goliath.
Open the Desmos interactive in a new tab by clicking on the image below. If the folder tab is open on the left hand side of the screen close it so you can see the graph in full screen.
Activity 3 - Where are the bees?
Activity 3 - Where are the bees?
Colonies of honey bees are dying all over the world at a fast rate.
This has very serious consequences for biodiversity and agriculture.
Honey bees pollinate the flowers of plants, so without the bees 80% of plants are likely to disappear.
Watch the video “The death of bees explained” to find out more.
In the four tasks that follow you will look at different data sets related to bees to investigate correlation.
Complete each task by writing your answers in your exercise book or folder.
The Death Of Bees Explained – Parasites, Poison and Humans
Duration: 6:19
Note: This task has been adapted from Don Steward’s Median website.
Task 1 - Number of honey-producing bee colonies
Task 1 - Number of honey-producing bee colonies
This data is the number of honey-producing bee colonies in the US (x 1,000,000) for certain years.
Open the Desmos interactive in a new tab by clicking on the image. If the folder tab is open on the left hand side of the screen close it so you can see the graph in full screen.
Describe the overall trend in the data.
There were 2.71 million honey-producing colonies in the US in 2020. How does this compare to the estimate given by the line of best fit?
When does the line of best fit suggest bee colonies would die out? Is this realistic?
Would it be appropriate to use this data to estimate how many bee colonies were in existence in 1940?
Task 2 - Bee visits per 5-minute interval
Task 2 - Bee visits per 5-minute interval
This data shows how the number of bee visits per 5-minute interval affects the number of seeds a plant produces.
Open the Desmos interactive in a new tab by clicking on the image. If the folder tab is open on the left hand side of the screen close it so you can see the graph in full screen.
Describe the correlation of the data.
Would this data help a claim that increasing the numbers of bees would increase food production? Explain your answer.
Task 3 - Bees vs mites
Task 3 - Bees vs mites
Varroa mites attack honey bees; the data shows the size of a sample chosen and the total number of mites in that sample.
Open the Desmos interactive in a new tab by clicking on the image. If the folder tab is open on the left hand side of the screen close it so you can see the graph in full screen.
Describe the correlation between sample size and the number of mites?
What is the y-intercept for the line of best fit? What does this represent? Is this realistic?
What does the gradient of your line best fit represent?
Task 4 - Standing vs hovering guards
Task 4 - Standing vs hovering guards
This data shows per colony the number of bees standing guard and the number of hovering bee guards.
Open the Desmos interactive in a new tab by clicking on the image. If the folder tab is open on the left hand side of the screen close it so you can see the graph in full screen.
Is there any kind of correlation in this data between the number of standing guards and the number of hovering guards in a colony?
What is the y-intercept for the line of best fit? What would this represent in real life? Is this realistic?
What does the gradient of the line of best fit represent?
Activities too easy?
Activities too easy?
Task 1 - Light reading
Task 1 - Light reading
Read this Google Doc on the problems associated with assuming that correlation equals causality.
Task 2 - Exploration of data trends in online sales of coats and boots
Task 2 - Exploration of data trends in online sales of coats and boots
The Desmos activity, Sales of boots and coats shows the number of online sales of coats and boots over time. (The data was been sourced from Google Trends.)
Take a moment to analyse the data.
What do you notice? Describe what you see.
This next Desmos activity, Sales of boots vs sales of coats, uses the same data but presents it as a scatterplot.
What do you notice about the data presented in this way?
Use the techniques outlined in this sequence of lessons to analyse this data and draw any conclusions.
What does this correlation tell us? And how could this information be useful?
Handing in your work
Handing in your work
Don't forget to hand in the work you completed today!
Your teacher will have told you to do one of the following:
Upload any digital documents you created and any photos you took of your written work to your Learning Management system (MS Teams, Google Classroom for example).
Email any digital documents you created and any photos you took of your written work to your teacher.
Make sure you keep any hand written work you did in your exercise book or folder as your teacher may need to see these when you are back in class.
Student reflection
Student reflection
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