What is data?
Data is information such as facts and numbers used to analyse something or make decisions. For example measuring rainfall and atmospheric temperatures helps us to known that the globe is warming, which is contributing to climate change.
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Tracking this information also helps us to know when we are reversing climate change. For example during the COVID-19 pandemic scientists were able to read the data on carbon dioxide emissions and noticed that it dramatically decreased due to the lock-downs.
What is a graph?
A graph is a simple visual that helps to communicate complex data.
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There are many graphs types and some of the more commonly used ones are:
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Bar Chart
Bar graphs are used to compare things between different groups or to track changes over time. However, when trying to measure change over time, bar graphs are best when the changes are larger.
Pie Chart
A pie chart helps organize and show data as a percentage of a whole. True to the name, this kind of visualization uses a circle to represent the whole, and slices of that circle, or “pie”, to represent the specific categories that compose the whole.
Line Graph
Line graphs are used to track changes over short and long periods of time. When smaller changes exist, line graphs are better to use than bar graphs. Line graphs can also be used to compare changes over the same period of time for more than one group.
In this task you will:
Examine data and represent it as a bar graph to answer the following question: Which decade was the driest on record?
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How:
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Go to this website
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Starting in 1890 add up the total annual rainfall of each decade (1890-1899).
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Create a bar chart to input that data
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What:
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When you have completed this you will be able to easily and accurately identify the driest decade on record.
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