Tables, Graphs & Patterns in Data — Practice · Grade 6 Science
Chapter: Inquiry, Measurement & ModelsWhat this practice covers
By the end of Tables, Graphs & Patterns in Data you should be able to:
- I can build a results table with units in the headings and a column for the mean.
- I can choose between a bar chart and a line graph from the kind of data I have.
- I can tell the difference between reading inside my data and guessing beyond it.
8 questions, written answer and multiple choice, each with a worked explanation.
Vocabulary used: mean, pattern, evidence, system boundary, uncertainty.
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
No measurement establishes its value. Plotting zero would invent an observation and could distort the pattern.
Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
Recorded temperature decreases over those times. It does not identify every energy transfer or predict an exact future value by itself.
Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.
Problem 3
Answer and explanation
No. It summarizes three values; the individual loads differ and should remain available.
Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.
Problem 4
Answer and explanation
No. Clear display improves interpretation but cannot remove a problem in how the evidence was collected.
Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.
Problem 5
Answer and explanation
The unwrapped cup decreases by 9 °C and the wrapped cup by 5 °C. The wrapped cup cools less over ten minutes under the stated comparison. This supports slower cooling if volumes, lids, location, and measurement are matched; it does not prove the wrapping prevents all energy transfer.
Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.
Problem 6
Answer and explanation
Check the labeled axis and full difference: 2 units. A shortened axis can emphasize that difference, so the graph should make its scale explicit rather than suggest a huge proportional change.
Compare the scientific meaning and reasoning after an independent attempt. A different accurate supported response can be correct; human review is required.
Problem 7
- One illustrative result establishes every real condition and needs no further evidence.
- A missing value is automatically a measured zero.
- A graph’s association automatically establishes a cause.
- mean: The sum of comparable values divided by their count.
Answer and explanation
mean: The sum of comparable values divided by their count.
The sum of comparable values divided by their count. The unwrapped cup decreases by 9 °C and the wrapped cup by 5 °C. The wrapped cup cools less over ten minutes under the stated comparison. This supports slower cooling if volumes, lids, location, and measurement are matched; it does not prove the wrapping prevents all energy transfer.
Problem 8
- pattern: A relationship observed in records that may guide a test or explanation.
- A missing value is automatically a measured zero.
- A graph’s association automatically establishes a cause.
- One illustrative result establishes every real condition and needs no further evidence.
Answer and explanation
pattern: A relationship observed in records that may guide a test or explanation.
A relationship observed in records that may guide a test or explanation. The unwrapped cup decreases by 9 °C and the wrapped cup by 5 °C. The wrapped cup cools less over ten minutes under the stated comparison. This supports slower cooling if volumes, lids, location, and measurement are matched; it does not prove the wrapping prevents all energy transfer.