Chapter 5 — Connecting the Dots…
Complete worked solutions for every in-text (Math Talk) question and every Figure-It-Out exercise — mean, median, dot plots, double bar graphs, and data interpretation.
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Of Questions and Statements
Which of the following are statistical questions?
(a) What is the price of a tennis ball in India? (b) How old are the dogs that live on this street? (c) What fraction of the students in your class like walking up a hill? (d) Do you like reading? (e) Approximately how many bricks are in this wall? (f) Who was the best bowler in the match yesterday? (g) What was the rainfall pattern in Barmer last year?
A statistical question is one that can only be answered by collecting data that shows variability, and then analysing it.
| Question | Statistical? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Price of a tennis ball | ✅ Yes | Prices vary across brands/shops — needs data collection |
| (b) Age of dogs on the street | ✅ Yes | Ages vary from dog to dog — needs data |
| (c) Fraction who like walking uphill | ✅ Yes | Requires surveying the whole class |
| (d) Do you like reading? | ❌ No | Single personal opinion, no data collection/variability involved |
| (e) How many bricks in this wall | ❌ No | Has one fixed answer — just needs counting/estimating, not statistical analysis |
| (f) Best bowler yesterday | ❌ No | Single factual answer from one match, not a data-collection question |
| (g) Rainfall pattern in Barmer last year | ✅ Yes | Rainfall varies through the year — needs data collected over time |
Representative Values — In-text (Math Talk) Questions
Runs in Series 1 — Shubman: 0, 17, 21, 90; Yashasvi: 67, 55, 18, 35. Who performed better?
Shubman’s total = \(0+17+21+90 = 128\) runs. Yashasvi’s total = \(67+55+18+35 = 175\) runs.
By total runs, Yashasvi scored more. But Shubman scored the single highest inning (90), while Yashasvi was more consistent (difference between his max and min score is smaller). So “better” depends on which measure you use — total, highest score, or consistency — there’s no single obvious winner from raw numbers alone.
Series 2 — Shubman: 23,07,10,52,18 (5 matches); Yashasvi: 26,53,02,-,15 (4 matches, missed 1). Vaishnavi says Shubman performed better since his total (110) > Yashasvi’s total (96). What do you think?
Vaishnavi’s comparison is unfair because Shubman played 5 matches while Yashasvi played only 4. Comparing totals directly is misleading when the number of matches differs — a player who plays more matches will naturally tend to have a higher total. We need a measure that adjusts for the number of matches played, i.e., the average (arithmetic mean).
Average runs of Shubman = \(\dfrac{110}{5} = 21\) runs/match.
Average runs of Yashasvi = \(\dfrac{96}{4} = 24\) runs/match.
Shreyas’s group (5 members) collected 3, 8, 10, 5, 4 guavas. Parag’s group (6 members) collected 5, 4, 6, 3, 4, 8 guavas. Which group’s members get a bigger fair share?
Shreyas’s group: Total \(= 3+8+10+5+4 = 30\) guavas ÷ 5 members \(= 6\) guavas each.
Parag’s group: Total \(= 5+4+6+3+4+8 = 30\) guavas ÷ 6 members \(= 5\) guavas each.
Flowers bloomed over 5 days: 2, 7, 9, 4, 3. Find the average number blooming per day.
\[\text{Average} = \dfrac{2+7+9+4+3}{5} = \dfrac{25}{5} = 5\]
Find the average price of onions at Yahapur and Wahapur (monthly prices given for 12 months).
Yahapur: Sum \(=25+24+26+28+30+35+39+43+49+56+59+44 = 458\)
\[\text{Average}_{Yahapur} = \dfrac{458}{12} \approx 38.17 \text{ ₹/kg}\]
Wahapur: Sum \(=19+17+23+30+38+35+42+39+53+60+52+42 = 450\)
\[\text{Average}_{Wahapur} = \dfrac{450}{12} = 37.5 \text{ ₹/kg}\]
Yaangba’s family: 169, 173, 155, 165, 160, 164 cm. Poovizhi’s family: 170, 173, 165, 118, 175 cm. Find average heights. Can we say Yaangba’s family is taller?
Yaangba’s family: Sum \(=169+173+155+165+160+164=986\); Mean \(=\dfrac{986}{6}\approx 164.3\) cm
Poovizhi’s family: Sum \(=170+173+165+118+175=801\); Mean \(=\dfrac{801}{5}=160.2\) cm
Even though Poovizhi’s mean (160.2 cm) is lower, most of her family members (4 out of 5) are actually taller than Yaangba’s average. The mean is pulled down by one much shorter member (118 cm) — this value is called an outlier.
Find the median height of each family. Does the median represent the data better?
Poovizhi (sorted): 118, 165, 170, 173, 175 → 5 values (odd), median = middle value = 170 cm
Yaangba (sorted): 155, 160, 164, 165, 169, 173 → 6 values (even), median = average of two middle values:
\[\text{Median} = \dfrac{164+165}{2} = 164.5 \text{ cm}\]
Find the mean and median in Poovizhi’s data without the outlier value 118. What change do you notice?
Remaining data: 165, 170, 173, 175 (4 values)
Mean \(=\dfrac{165+170+173+175}{4}=\dfrac{683}{4}=170.75\) cm
Median = average of 2 middle values (sorted: 165,170,173,175) \(=\dfrac{170+173}{2}=171.5\) cm
Stories read by students: 6, 8, 5, 15, 3, 0, 2, 7, 12, 40, 0, 8, 10, 5, 1. Find the mean and median.
Number of students, \(n = 15\). Sum \(=6+8+5+15+3+0+2+7+12+40+0+8+10+5+1 = 122\)
\[\text{Mean} = \dfrac{122}{15} \approx 8.13\]
Sorted data: 0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10, 12, 15, 40 (15 values → 8th value is the median)
Which value is an outlier? Find mean and median in its absence.
The outlier is 40 (way higher than all other values).
Remaining 14 values, sum \(=122-40=82\); Mean \(=\dfrac{82}{14}\approx 5.86\)
Sorted (14 values): 0,0,1,2,3,5,5,6,7,8,8,10,12,15 → Median \(=\dfrac{5+6}{2}=5.5\)
Newspaper pages, Mon–Sun: 16, 18, 20, 22, 26, 16, 10. Find mean and median.
Sum \(=16+18+20+22+26+16+10=128\); Mean \(=\dfrac{128}{7}\approx 18.29\)
Sorted: 10, 16, 16, 18, 20, 22, 26 (7 values) → Median = 4th value = 18
Given: Whole class Mean = 144.4; Boys Mean = 142.94; Girls Mean = 146.9. How many students are taller than the class average? How many boys are taller than the class average?
Boys’ heights: 147,135,130,154,128,135,134,158,155,146,146,142,140,141,144,145,150 (17 boys)
Girls’ heights: 143,136,150,144,154,140,145,148,156,150,150 (11 girls)
Class average = 144.4 cm. Checking each value against 144.4:
Boys taller than 144.4: 147, 154, 158, 155, 146, 146, 145, 150 → 8 boys
Girls taller than 144.4: 150, 154, 145, 148, 156, 150, 150 → 7 girls
England’s median runs was 0, yet team total was 407/10. How is this possible? Also find the average runs per player (excluding extras).
Individual scores: 19, 0, 0, 22, 158, 0, 184, 5, 0, 0, 0 (11 players)
Sorted: 0,0,0,0,0,0,5,19,22,158,184 → the 6th value (middle of 11) = 0. So the median is genuinely 0, since 6 out of 11 players scored a duck!
Even though most players scored 0, two players (Harry Brook 158, Jamie Smith 184) scored huge individual totals, pushing the team total up to 407. This shows the median tells us about the “typical” player, while the total/mean is driven by a couple of very high scorers.
Average excluding extras \(=\dfrac{407-19}{11}=\dfrac{388}{11}\approx 35.27\) runs/player.
A player scores 57, 13, 0, 84, —, 51, 27 (missed one match). How do we calculate the average?
A score of 0 means the player played and got out without scoring — this counts as a valid match. A dash (—) means the player did not play that match at all — it must be excluded entirely, not treated as 0.
So we divide by the number of matches actually played = 6 (not 7):
\[\text{Average} = \dfrac{57+13+0+84+51+27}{6} = \dfrac{232}{6} \approx 38.67\]
Figure It Out — Exercises (pg. 101 & 112)
Shreyas bounces a ball on a bat. Data for 8 attempts: 6, 2, 9, 5, 4, 6, 3, 5. Calculate the average.
Sum \(= 6+2+9+5+4+6+3+5 = 40\)
\[\text{Average} = \dfrac{40}{8} = 5\]
Try the bounce activity yourself (7+ attempts) and track a flowering plant’s blooms over a week.
These are hands-on data-collection activities. Once you record your own data (e.g. 7 bounce counts or 7 days of flower counts), use the same method: Average = (Sum of all values) ÷ (Number of values). Add up your recorded numbers and divide by how many readings you took.
100 m race times (seconds) — Nikhil: 17,18,17,16,19,17,18; Sunil: 20,18,18,17,16,16,17. Who ran quicker on average?
Nikhil: Sum \(=17+18+17+16+19+17+18 = 122\); Average \(=\dfrac{122}{7}\approx 17.43\)s
Sunil: Sum \(=20+18+18+17+16+16+17 = 122\); Average \(=\dfrac{122}{7}\approx 17.43\)s
School enrolment over six years: 1555, 1670, 1750, 2013, 2040, 2126. Find the mean enrolment.
Sum \(=1555+1670+1750+2013+2040+2126 = 11154\)
\[\text{Mean} = \dfrac{11154}{6} = 1859\]
Find the median of onion prices in Yahapur and Wahapur.
Yahapur sorted: 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 35, 39, 43, 44, 49, 56, 59 (12 values)
\[\text{Median} = \dfrac{35+39}{2} = 37\]
Wahapur sorted: 17, 19, 23, 30, 35, 38, 39, 42, 42, 52, 53, 60 (12 values)
\[\text{Median} = \dfrac{38+39}{2} = 38.5\]
Pets data (some absent, shown as —): 0,1,0,4,8,0,0,2,1,1,5,3,4,0,0,—,10,25,2,—,2,4. Find mean and median. Describe the data.
Ignore the two dashes (students absent, not zero). Valid data (20 values): 0,1,0,4,8,0,0,2,1,1,5,3,4,0,0,10,25,2,2,4
Sum \(= 72\); Mean \(=\dfrac{72}{20} = 3.6\)
Sorted: 0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,2,2,2,3,4,4,4,5,8,10,25 (20 values)
Median \(=\dfrac{2+2}{2} = 2\) (average of 10th and 11th values)
Heights of 29 date-palm trees (feet): 50,45,43,52,61,63,46,55,60,55,59,56,56,49,54,65,66,51,44,58,60,54,52,57,61,62,60,60,67. Find mean, median, and how many trees are shorter than average.
Sum of all 29 heights \(= 1621\)
\[\text{Mean} = \dfrac{1621}{29} \approx 55.9 \text{ ft}\]
Sorted (29 values): 43,44,45,46,49,50,51,52,52,54,54,55,55,56,56,57,58,59,60,60,60,60,61,61,62,63,65,66,67
Median = 15th value (middle of 29) = 56 ft
Trees shorter than average (55.9 ft): 43,44,45,46,49,50,51,52,52,54,54,55,55 = 13 trees
Quicker way to find the mean: Group repeated values into a frequency table (value × frequency), sum those products, then divide by total count — this avoids adding 29 numbers one by one.
Daily water usage (litres): 5.6, 8, 3.09, 12.9, 6.5, 12.1, 11.3, 20.5, 7.4. (a) Can mean/median lie between 25–30? (b) Can mean/median be less than minimum or more than maximum?
(a) No. The maximum value in the data is only 20.5 L. Both mean and median are always computed from within the data range, so neither can exceed the maximum value (20.5). Hence they cannot lie between 25–30.
(b) No, in general the mean and median can never be less than the minimum value or greater than the maximum value of a dataset — they always lie somewhere between (or equal to) the smallest and largest values, since they represent a “balance point” or “middle point” of the data.
Weights of newborn babies (kg) — Boys: 3.5, 4.1, 2.6, 3.2, 3.4, 3.8; Girls: 4.0, 3.1, 3.4, 3.7, 2.5, 3.4. Analyse and compare.
Boys: Sum \(=3.5+4.1+2.6+3.2+3.4+3.8=20.6\); Mean \(=\dfrac{20.6}{6}\approx 3.43\) kg
Sorted: 2.6,3.2,3.4,3.5,3.8,4.1 → Median \(=\dfrac{3.4+3.5}{2}=3.45\) kg
Girls: Sum \(=4.0+3.1+3.4+3.7+2.5+3.4=20.1\); Mean \(=\dfrac{20.1}{6}=3.35\) kg
Sorted: 2.5,3.1,3.4,3.4,3.7,4.0 → Median \(=\dfrac{3.4+3.4}{2}=3.4\) kg
Given: another section — Whole class Mean=141.21, Median=142.5; Boys Mean=142.05, Median=143; Girls Mean=140.14, Median=140. Compare heights of the two sections.
In the first section (from the text), girls were taller on average (146.9 cm) than boys (142.94 cm). In this new section, the trend is reversed: boys are taller on average (142.05 cm) than girls (140.14 cm).
Sumo wrestlers (kg): 295.2, 250.7, 234.1, 221.0, 200.9. Ballet dancers (kg): 40.3, 37.6, 38.8, 45.5, 44.1, 48.2. Approximately how many times heavier is a sumo wrestler than a ballet dancer?
Sumo mean: Sum \(=295.2+250.7+234.1+221.0+200.9=1201.9\); Mean \(=\dfrac{1201.9}{5}\approx 240.4\) kg
Ballet mean: Sum \(=40.3+37.6+38.8+45.5+44.1+48.2=254.5\); Mean \(=\dfrac{254.5}{6}\approx 42.4\) kg
\[\text{Ratio} = \dfrac{240.4}{42.4} \approx 5.67\]
Visualising Data — In-text Questions
Does the dot plot capture all the onion-price data? Can we tell the price in Yahapur in January just by looking at it?
No. A dot plot only shows which values occur and how often — it sorts/groups the data by value, but it loses the original month-wise order. So from the dot plot alone we cannot tell which dot corresponds to January specifically; we would need to go back to the original table for that.
What is the scale used in the clustered onion-price graph? Is it easier to compare month-wise prices now?
Scale used: 1 grid unit = 10 along the price (vertical) axis, from 0 to 60.
Estimate the total number of rockets launched worldwide in 2023: (a) less than 200 (b) 200–400 (c) 400–600 (d) more than 600.
Adding approximate 2023 bar values for each organisation: SpaceX (~95) + CASC (~48) + Roscosmos (~20) + Arianespace (~14) + Rocket Lab (~8) + ULA (~8) + ISRO (~7) + Galactic Energy (~5) + Expace (~5) + Other (~25) ≈ 235
List organisations that consistently launched more rockets every year (2021→2022→2023). Identify which statements are justified by the graph.
Consistently increasing every year: SpaceX shows a clear year-on-year increase (2021 < 2022 < 2023), roughly doubling from 2021 to 2022 and increasing further in 2023.
| Statement | Justified? |
|---|---|
| (a) All organisations launched more rockets than the previous year | ❌ False — Arianespace decreased every year |
| (b) Only a USA organisation launched >50 rockets in a single year | ✅ True — only SpaceX crosses 50 in a year |
| (c) Arianespace’s 3-year total is less than 40 | ❌ Approx. false — bars suggest a total closer to 45–50 |
| (d) CASC’s average over 3 years is around 40 | ✅ Approximately true |
| (e) ISRO launched more than Galactic Energy over these 3 years | ✅ True (ISRO’s bars are consistently taller) |
| (f) Russia (Roscosmos) launched more than 60 rockets over 3 years | ⚠️ Borderline — bars suggest a total close to 55–60; needs a precise reading of the graph |
Note: Since exact bar heights must be read off a printed graph, some totals above are best approximate estimates rather than exact counts.
Two cities’ average daily daylight hours were compared. What can we infer, and where are these cities located?
City 1 (Helsinki, Finland — Northern Hemisphere) has daylight rising to ~17–18 hrs in June, falling to ~6 hrs in December. City 2 (Wellington, New Zealand — Southern Hemisphere) shows the opposite pattern — minimum (~9 hrs) in June, maximum (~15 hrs) in December.
Based on the runs-per-over double bar graph: (1) Can we tell who batted first / who won? (2) Runs scored by blue team in over 12? (3) Which over did red team score least? (4) Is the target easy to identify?
(1) Not directly — the graph shows both teams’ overs plotted together by over-number, without indicating which innings happened first in time. We would need extra information (like which colour represents the team that batted first) to determine that, and then sum each team’s runs to find the winner.
(2) From the graph, the blue team scored about 15 runs in over 12 (the tallest blue bar on the chart).
(3) The red team’s shortest bar appears at over 4 (around 2 runs) — its lowest-scoring over.
(4) No, it isn’t straightforward — since both teams’ bars are shown over the same over-numbers rather than as two separate sequential innings, you cannot simply read off “the target” without knowing which team batted first and adding up only that team’s 20 overs.
Figure It Out — Exercises (pg. 122–124)
Animal speed infographic (air/land/water). (a) Scale used? (b) Interesting observation? (c) A pair where one is about twice the other’s speed. (d) Is sailfish ~4× a humpback whale? Is it the fastest aquatic animal in the world?
(a) This is technically a bar chart, but drawn horizontally with icons; the scale used along the axis is approximately 1 unit = 16 kph.
(b) The peregrine falcon (322 kph, diving) is the fastest animal shown overall — far ahead of every land and water animal.
(c) Peregrine falcon (322 kph) is roughly twice as fast as the spine-tailed swift (170 kph): \(322 \div 170 \approx 1.9\), close to 2.
(d) Sailfish = 109 kph, Humpback whale = 26 kph. \(\dfrac{109}{26} \approx 4.2\) — yes, about 4 times faster.
Superpower choices (w=water, a=air, n=none/space, s=space): Grade 5 and Grade 9 responses given as letter strings. Tally and compare.
| Option | Grade 5 count | Grade 9 count |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial (a) | 13 | 8 |
| Water-borne (w) | 6 | 6 |
| Spaceborne (s) | 2 | 9 |
| None (n) | 4 | 2 |
Jodhpur temperature over 2 days (8 time-slots each). Draw a double-bar graph (scale 1 unit = 4°C) and guess which months these belong to.
Day 1: 20,18,16,20,26,34,30,24 °C (moderate range, cooler nights) — likely a winter month, e.g. December/January.
Day 2: 37,34,30,33,37,43,42,39 °C (consistently very hot, peaking at 43°C) — likely peak summer, e.g. May/June in the Rajasthan desert.
EV registrations 2022–2024 clustered bar graph (some states given). (a) Plot missing Gujarat/Delhi data. (d) Extra registrations Assam 2023 vs 2022? (e) How many times did West Bengal’s registrations grow (2022→2024)? (f) Is the Uttarakhand statement correct?
(a) Gujarat: 2022 = 69000, 2023 = 89000, 2024 = 78000. Delhi: 2022 = 62000, 2023 = 74000, 2024 = 81000. Place these bar-tops between the appropriate gridlines on the chart.
(d) Approximate reading: Assam ≈ 40,000 (2022) → ≈ 60,000 (2023), an increase of about 20,000 registrations.
(e) West Bengal ≈ 10,000 (2022) → ≈ 43,000 (2024), roughly a 4× increase.
(f) Not quite correct. Even though Uttarakhand’s bars look visually short and similar in length, because the graph’s scale is large (each gridline represents 25,000 vehicles), a “small” visual increase can still represent a few thousand actual vehicle registrations — so describing it as “very few new registrations” understates the real numbers without checking the scale.
Data Detective — In-text Questions
Dot plots of heights for Grades 6, 7, 8 boys/girls at two schools. What do you notice?
In School A, boys’ and girls’ mean heights are very close in each grade (e.g. Grade 6: 134.8 vs 137.78). In School B, the means are also close within each grade but are consistently higher overall than School A at every grade level (e.g. Grade 6: 149.84 vs 134.8).
Which of the following statements can be justified using the height-by-age-by-year table?
| # | Statement | Justified? | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Average heights of boys & girls at every age increased 1989→2019 | ✅ True | Checking each row, every value increases left to right |
| 2 | Avg height of 13-yr girls (1989) > avg height of 14-yr girls (2009) | ❌ False | 143.2 cm (1989, age 13) < 148 cm (2009, age 14) |
| 3 | Avg height of 15-yr boys (2019) > avg height of 16-yr boys (1989) | ✅ True | 159 cm > 158.9 cm (just barely!) |
| 4 | All girls aged 13 are taller than all girls aged 11 | ❌ False | This is about an average, not every individual — individual heights vary a lot; can’t be claimed for “all” |
| 5 | Throughout ages 5–19, avg boy’s height > avg girl’s height | ❌ False | At age 5 in 2019, girls (107.2) are actually slightly taller than boys (107.1) |
| 6 | Boys keep growing even beyond age 19 | ❌ Cannot be justified | The table only has data up to age 19 — we have no information about ages beyond that |
Between which two successive ages did boys/girls grow most (2019)? Estimate heights for ages 1–4 and predict 2029 values.
Scanning the 2019 column, the biggest jump for boys is between ages 13 and 14 (148.4 → 154.4 cm, a jump of 6 cm) — this is the typical adolescent growth spurt. For girls, the largest jump is between ages 12 and 13 (143.8 → 147.7 cm), reflecting girls’ growth spurt happening slightly earlier than boys’.
Assuming a newborn is ~50 cm and grows rapidly in the first years, ages 1–4 heights can be roughly estimated between 75–100 cm, growing faster in year 1 and slowing down afterward.
Following the trend of a roughly 1–2 cm rise per decade at each age, 2029 heights can be estimated by extrapolating slightly above the 2019 values shown in the table.
A family used average family height to set a doorway height — a poor idea. Why?
Using the average height for a design like a doorway is risky because the average doesn’t guarantee everyone fits — roughly half of any group could be taller than the average! A safer choice would be to use the maximum height (tallest family member) plus some margin, not the mean.
Figure It Out — Final Exercises (pg. 129–134)
Dot plots show number of pockets — Boys vs Girls. Which statements are true? (a) Boys’ data varies more (b) Median pockets: boys > girls (c) Mean pockets: girls > boys (d) Max pockets: boys > girls.
Reading the dot plots: Boys’ pocket counts cluster in a narrower range (mostly 3–6), while Girls’ pocket counts spread more widely (from 0 up to 6).
| (a) Boys vary more than girls | ❌ False — girls’ data is more spread out (wider range, including 0) |
| (b) Median pockets for boys > girls | ✅ True — boys’ values cluster higher (around 4–5) vs girls (around 3) |
| (c) Mean pockets for girls > boys | ❌ False |
| (d) Max pockets for boys > girls | ❌ False — both groups reach a maximum of 6 pockets |
Note: exact counts should be verified by counting dots directly on your copy of the dot plot.
Points table: A: 14,16,10,10; B: 0,8,6,4; C: 8,11,(did not play),13. (a) Average points by A. (b) Divide C’s total by 3 or 4? What about B? (c) Best performer?
(a) A’s average \(=\dfrac{14+16+10+10}{4}=\dfrac{50}{4}=12.5\) points/game
(b) C should be divided by 3, because C only played 3 games (the “did not play” game must be excluded, just like the batting series example earlier). B should be divided by 4, because B played all 4 games — scoring 0 in one game still counts as a played match.
C’s average \(=\dfrac{8+11+13}{3}=\dfrac{32}{3}\approx 10.67\); B’s average \(=\dfrac{0+8+6+4}{4}=\dfrac{18}{4}=4.5\)
GK quiz marks — Group 1: 85,76,90,85,39,48,56,95,81,75; Group 2: 68,59,73,86,47,79,90,93,86. Compare using mean and median.
Group 1: Sum \(=730\), \(n=10\); Mean \(=73\). Sorted: 39,48,56,75,76,81,85,85,90,95 → Median \(=\dfrac{76+81}{2}=78.5\)
Group 2: Sum \(=681\), \(n=9\); Mean \(=\dfrac{681}{9}\approx75.67\). Sorted: 47,59,68,73,79,86,86,90,93 → Median = 5th value = 79
Favourite sport survey (Watching vs Participating): Cricket 1240/620, Basketball 470/320, Swimming 510/320, Hockey 430/250, Athletics 250/105. Draw a double-bar graph and comment.
Use scale 1 unit = 100 (or 200) people on the vertical axis, with two bars (“Watching” and “Participating”) for each of the 5 sports.
Heights of 17 students (cm): 106,110,123,125,117,120,112,115,110,120,115,102,115,115,109,115,101. Split into 2 equal groups (below/above a threshold height). Guess their age using the earlier height table.
Sorted: 101,102,106,109,110,110,112,115,115,115,115,115,117,120,120,123,125 (17 values)
The value 115 cm repeats 5 times — right around the middle of the data. Using 115 cm as the splitting height: 7 students are below 115 cm, and 5 students are above 115 cm, with the 5 students at exactly 115 cm excluded as “the particular height” itself.
Comparing these heights (roughly 101–125 cm) to the 1989–2019 height table, this range best matches children around ages 6 to 8.
Describe the mean and median heights of your own class.
This requires your own class’s actual height data. Method: record every student’s height, then compute Mean = (sum of all heights) ÷ (number of students), and find the Median by sorting all heights and picking the middle value (or averaging the two middle values if the class size is even). Plot the values as a dot plot to see how spread out or clustered your class’s heights are, and note whether mean ≈ median (balanced data) or they differ a lot (possible outliers).
Two Grade 7 sections (15 boys + 15 girls each). One section’s mean height = 154.2 cm. What must be true about the other section’s mean height? (a) Same (b) Less (c) More (d) Cannot be determined.
Cities with most skyscrapers (buildings >150m). (a) Estimate New York, Tokyo, London values. (b) Check statements (i)–(iii).
(a) Approximate readings from the bar chart: New York ≈ 300, Tokyo ≈ 170, London ≈ 15 (the shortest bar on the chart).
| (i) Only 12 cities have more skyscrapers than Mumbai (86) | ✅ True — Hong Kong, Shenzhen, New York, Dubai, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Chongqing, Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore = exactly 12 cities above Mumbai |
| (ii) Only 7 cities have fewer skyscrapers than Mumbai | ✅ True — Seoul, Toronto, Melbourne, Miami, Istanbul, Moscow, London = 7 cities below Mumbai |
| (iii) The tallest building in the world is in Hong Kong | ❌ False — this graph counts the number of tall buildings (>150m), not the single tallest building. Having the most skyscrapers doesn’t mean Hong Kong has the world’s tallest individual building. |
Estimate then measure objects (pen, eraser, palm, geometry box, notebook). Draw a double bar graph and find the average difference.
| Object | Estimate (cm) | Measure (cm) | Positive Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of a pen | — | — | — |
| Length of an eraser | — | — | — |
| Length of your palm | — | — | — |
| Length of your geometry box | — | — | — |
| Length of your math notebook | — | — | — |
Fill in your own estimated and actual measured lengths using a ruler. The Positive Difference for each row = |Estimate − Measure| (ignore the sign). Then:
\[\text{Average difference} = \dfrac{\text{Sum of all Positive Differences}}{5}\]
This tells you, on average, how accurate your estimates were — a smaller average difference means better estimation skills!
Sudoku solving times (sec) — Week 1: 410,400,370,340,360,400,320,330,310; Week 2: 320,290,380,280,270,230,220,240. Plot dot plots and describe mean, median.
Week 1: Sum \(=410+400+370+340+360+400+320+330+310=3240\); Mean \(=\dfrac{3240}{9}=360\)s. Sorted: 310,320,330,340,360,370,400,400,410 → Median = 360
Week 2: Sum \(=320+290+380+280+270+230+220+240=2230\); Mean \(=\dfrac{2230}{8}=278.75\)s. Sorted: 220,230,240,270,280,290,320,380 → Median \(=\dfrac{270+280}{2}=275\)
Individual/small-group projects: sentence lengths, name lengths, “in and out” tracking, family heights, time estimation.
These are hands-on data-collection projects — there is no single fixed numeric answer since the data depends on your own textbooks, classmates’ names, or personal daily habits. For each project, follow the same core method used throughout this chapter:
- Collect your raw data carefully (word counts, name lengths, step-out counts, heights, or time estimates).
- Make a dot plot to visualise the spread (minimum, maximum, clustering).
- Compute Mean = (sum of values) ÷ (number of values).
- Sort the data and find the Median (middle value, or average of the two middle values if the count is even).
- Compare mean and median — if they’re close, the data is balanced; if they differ a lot, look for outliers.
- For comparisons across two groups (e.g., boys vs girls names, or Week 1 vs Week 2), draw a double-bar graph with a sensible scale.
Connect the Dots — Number Lock
Find the 3-digit lock code using the hints: 265 → one digit correct & well-placed · 271 → one digit correct, wrong place · 542 → two digits correct, wrong place · 036 → nothing correct · 064 → one digit correct, wrong place.
Step 1 — Eliminate digits using “036 → nothing correct”: Digits 0, 3, 6 do not appear anywhere in the code.
Step 2 — Use “064 → one digit correct, wrong place”: Since 0 and 6 are eliminated, the correct digit must be 4, and it is not in position 3 (where it appears in “064”).
Step 3 — Use “265 → one digit correct & well-placed”: Since 6 is eliminated, the correct digit is either 2 (position 1) or 5 (position 3). If 2 were correct at position 1, digit 4 (from Step 2) would have nowhere left to go (it can’t be position 3). So it must be 5, correctly placed at position 3.
Step 4 — Use “542 → two digits correct, wrong place”: We already know 5 is in the code (at position 3) — in “542” it sits at position 1, which is indeed the wrong place, so that’s one correct-but-misplaced digit. We need one more correct digit from {5,4,2}; since 4 is confirmed in the code (Step 2), 4 is the second one. In “542”, 4 sits at position 2 — but we already know (Step 2) 4 is not at position 3, and now also not at position 2 (since it’s “wrongly placed” here too). So 4 must be at position 1. This also tells us 2 is NOT in the code (since only two of {5,4,2} were correct, and we’ve already found both: 5 and 4).
Step 5 — Use “271 → one digit correct, wrong place”: Since 2 is eliminated (Step 4), the correct digit must be 1 or 7. If 7 were correct, it would need a position other than position 2 (guessed position) — but positions 1 and 3 are already taken by 4 and 5, leaving no room for 7. So it must be 1, and since position 3 is taken by 5, 1 must go in the only remaining slot: position 2.
Verification against all 5 clues with code 4-1-5:
| Guess | Check against 4-1-5 | Matches clue? |
|---|---|---|
| 265 | 5 is correct & in position 3 ✓, 2 & 6 absent | ✅ one correct, well-placed |
| 271 | 1 is in the code but at position 2, not 3 | ✅ one correct, wrong place |
| 542 | 5 present (wrong place), 4 present (wrong place), 2 absent | ✅ two correct, wrong place |
| 036 | 0, 3, 6 all absent from code | ✅ nothing correct |
| 064 | 4 is in the code but at position 1, not 3 | ✅ one correct, wrong place |
