Analysing Data — NSW Year 7 Maths
Making sense of survey results, sports scores and other data with graphs, dot plots and averages. Six subtopics and 120 practice questions, each with a fully worked solution, aligned to NESA outcomes MA4-DAT-C-01 and MA4-DAT-C-02.
Analysing Data in NSW Year 7
Analysing data means turning a list of numbers or survey answers into something you can understand and compare. In Year 7, students interpret column, line, sector and picture graphs, draw and read dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots, and summarise a set of data with the mean, mode, median and range, noticing clusters, gaps and outliers along the way.
The six subtopics below begin with interpreting graphs, then cover dot plots, stem-and-leaf plots, the mean and mode, and the median and range, and finish by analysing dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots together. Analysing Data is one of the 13 topics in NSW Year 7 Maths and sits in the Statistics and Probability strand (NESA outcomes MA4‑DAT‑C‑01 and MA4‑DAT‑C‑02). These skills lead on to histograms, quartiles, box plots and comparing larger datasets in later years.
Subtopics
Analysing Data: common questions
What is analysing data in Year 7 maths?
It means showing data in graphs and plots, then describing it with the mean, median and mode (measures of centre) and the range (a measure of spread). Students also look for patterns such as clusters, gaps and outliers.
How do you find the mean, mode, median and range?
For the data 2, 7, 4, 7, 5 the mean is \(25 \div 5 = 5\). In order the values are 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, so the median is 5, the mode is 7 and the range is \(7 - 2 = 5\).
What is a common mistake with the mode?
Giving how many times a value appears instead of the value itself. In 4, 6, 6, 6, 9 the mode is 6, not 3.
Which NESA outcomes cover data in Year 7?
Displaying and interpreting data sits under MA4‑DAT‑C‑01, and summarising data with measures of centre and spread sits under MA4‑DAT‑C‑02, both in Stage 4 of the NSW Mathematics K–10 Syllabus (2022).
What comes after analysing data?
Students go on to histograms and larger datasets, and in Stage 5 they use quartiles, box plots and the interquartile range to compare groups more carefully.