Collecting, Representing, and Interpreting Data Using Spreadsheets and Graphing Software: Collecting and Examining Weather Data

Collecting and Examining Weather Data

Representing and Interpreting Data

Spreadsheets and graphing software are tools for organizing, representing, and comparing data. This activity illustrates how weather data can be collected and examined using these tools. In the first part, Collecting and Examining Weather Data, students organize and then examine data that has been collected over a period of time in a spreadsheet. In the second part, Representing and Interpreting Data, students use the graphing functions of a spreadsheet to help them interpret data. Working on activities like these, students learn to set up a simple spreadsheet and use it in posing and solving problems, examining data, and investigating patterns, as described in the Representation Standard.

Task

Have students collect data related to the weather in their city. Organize and archive the data collected over a period of time in a spreadsheet. A sample spreadsheet appears below. Add data (real data from your area or made-up data for this exploration) and see how the "summary data" changes. What does the summary data tell you? After collecting data for a month, explore and develop answers for questions such as, What was our weather like in January? How would we describe January weather in our town to a visitor? What was the temperature generally like this month? How much rainfall did we get?

[Stand-alone applet]

Additional Tasks

As students gather data over several months, they should compare data sets. For example, which was the colder month—this month or last month? On what basis could such a decision be made? Are there ways to graph the data to enable comparisons?

Students might be interested in accessing data for prior years and comparing their data with data for the same month over several years. Is the January weather generally the same during these years? Were temperatures and rainfall similar in other Januarys? How much do the temperature and rainfall vary? Is it pretty much the same every year? Students also may become interested in comparing data from their own locale to data from other areas—perhaps places that students have visited or where their friends or relatives are living. Comparisons of data from different cities or regions, of data from coastal communities to inland communities, or of weather in different hemispheres are all possible extensions.

A variety of Web sites contain large databases (census data, educational statistics, athletic statistics, etc.). Find and explore some of these databases. Download interesting data into a spreadsheet for additional study.

Discussion

Students can collect weather data by checking the local paper, watching a daily televised weather report, getting the information from a Web site, or monitoring various aspects of the weather themselves. Archiving data in a spreadsheet allows students to add new types of data as they become interested in other aspects of the weather. For example, in the Boston area, students might realize that in the winter, the temperature alone does not give them enough information to fully describe the weather. Wind chill is a measure that gives a better sense of how cold it actually feels, so they might decide to add this measure to their chart. They might also realize that simply listing the amount of precipitation does not tell them in what form the precipitation fell—rain, snow, hail, or sleet. They might decide to add another column to keep track of this information. A spreadsheet provides maximum flexibility for current and future explorations.

Collecting and Examining Weather Data

Representing and Interpreting Data