By the end of this lesson, students can:
Use information technologies to investigate bivariate-numerical-data sets; where appropriate, students use a straight line to describe the relationship, allowing for variation (ACMSP279)
Review correlation: Matching activity (LIT)
Prior to the lesson, the teacher prepares a set of cards for each pair. The set of cards includes:
Working in pairs, students place all cards upside down and match the graphs to the definition to the word and then determine the best description for each graph using the available word list. A class discussion follows to consolidate student learning. Students record personal notes, including key vocabulary they have learnt from the activity.
Class Discussion (ICT)
Watch: Khan Academy: Bivariate relationship linearity, strength and direction
Using this knowledge, students work in groups to brainstorm variables that may have a strong positive correlation, such as the number of alcoholic drinks consumed and reaction time. They also consider a variables that may have a negative correlation, such as the number of hours spent playing video games and their ATAR result. Finally, students consider a pair of variables that might be expected to have a zero correlation such as the size of someone’s ear lobe and their swimming speed.
Groups swap pairs of variables and describe the linearity, strength and direction of the possible correlation of the class.
Note: In this activity, the teacher can allow students to collect real data by combining groups to facillitate questioning. However, the teacher must confine the variables to simple and appropriate demographic or physical variables, for example, number of siblings and number of bedrooms, length of pencil case and number of stationary items, etc.
To review, students complete the practice questions for the video:Positive and negative linear associations from scatter plots and Describing Scatterplots