Year 9 · Spring 1

Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Asking questions and collecting data

TheoryTopic 18 Data, spreadsheets and AI

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

You will learn to

  • Write a question about the class that data can answer, like 'How long do we sleep?'.
  • Design a form where each question collects one type of data: number, text, date or yes/no.
  • Explain why choosing from a list gives cleaner data than free typing.
  • Explain why a class survey should be anonymous and ask only what it needs.

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Success criteria

You have got it when you can say:

  • I can write one clear question that the data can answer.
  • I can say the data type of every question on my form.
  • I can change a free-text question into a number or a choice question.

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Retrieval starter

Questions from before. Write your answers, then show them.

  1. Last unit

    Ransomware mainly breaks which part of the CIA triad?

    A IntegrityB AvailabilityC Confidentiality

    B. Availability

  2. Last unit

    A variable made inside a function is…

    A Saved to a fileB Local: only exists inside it while it runsC Global: usable anywhere

    B. Local: only exists inside it while it runs

  3. Earlier this year

    In def area(w, h): … and a = area(4, 3), which are the arguments?

    A 4 and 3B area and aC w and h

    A. 4 and 3

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Key words (1 of 2)

Formula
A spreadsheet calculation. Always starts with =.
Function
A subroutine that returns a value.
Record / field
One row in a database table: everything stored about one thing.
Primary key
A field whose value is unique for every record.

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Key words (2 of 2)

SQL
Structured Query Language: asks databases questions.
Machine learning
The computer finds rules itself from labelled examples.

The explanation · step 1 of 2

Data vs information

  • Data: 38, 41, 37, 39. Meaningless alone.
  • Information: a patient's temperature in °C over four hours; 41 is dangerously high.

The explanation · step 2 of 2

The data science cycle

  1. Ask a question.
  2. Collect data.
  3. Clean it: duplicates, typos, impossible values.
  4. Analyse: averages, sorting, charts.
  5. Conclude, honestly.
!Watch out

A link between two things (correlation) doesn't prove one causes the other.

The explanation · step 2 of 2

The maths: The mean (average)

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Quick quiz · 1 of 3

Every spreadsheet formula starts with…

  1. A =
  2. B #
  3. C $

A. =

The = tells the spreadsheet: calculate this, don't just show it.

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Quick quiz · 2 of 3

=B2*C2 in D2 is filled down to D5. What is in D5?

  1. A =B5*C5
  2. B =B2*C2
  3. C =E2*F2

A. =B5*C5

Relative references move with the formula: 3 rows down, so 2 becomes 5.

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Quick quiz · 3 of 3

In Spanish Excel, =IF(B2>=25,"Pass","Retry") becomes…

  1. A =SI(B2>=25;"Aprobado";"Repetir")
  2. B =IF(B2>=25;"Pass";"Retry")
  3. C =SI(B2>=25,"Aprobado","Repetir")

A. =SI(B2>=25;"Aprobado";"Repetir")

Spanish name SI, and semicolons, because the comma is the decimal point.

Year 9 · Data Science and AI · Lesson 1 of 5

Exit ticket

Answer on paper before you go. Then check.

  1. The numbers 3, 9, 4, 4, 10. What is the median?

    A 4B 6C 9

    A. 4 Sort: 3, 4, 4, 9, 10. The middle (3rd) value is 4.

  2. Which field makes a good primary key?

    A StudentIDB FirstNameC House

    A. StudentID It is unique for every student and doesn't change.