Continuous variation: data handling and analysis | Science

Starter quiz

Which two pieces of equipment should you use when drawing a graph?
- pen
- pencil ✓
- ruler ✓
- plain paper
How many students in this class can only roll their tongue into a straw shape?
- '14' ✓
How many students in this class cannot roll their tongue?
- '7' ✓
The peas produced by pea plants can either be smooth or wrinkled. This is an example of ______ variation.
- 'discontinuous' ✓
Data for discontinuous variation should always be plotted on a ...
- bar chart. ✓
- histogram.
- line graph.
- photograph.
Which two of the statements below are conclusions that could be drawn from the data in the bar chart?
- The total number of individuals was 14.
- The category with the fewest individuals in it was “cannot roll tongue". ✓
- The most common variation was the ability to roll tongue into a straw shape. ✓
- Tongue rolling is an example of continuous variation.

Exit quiz

How many students have a height that is in the range of 160 to 169 cm?
- '3' ✓
Which type of graph has this data been displayed in?
- bar chart
- histogram ✓
- line graph
- pie chart
Height is an example of ______ variation.
- 'continuous' ✓
Match each type of graph to its correct feature.
- A bar chart is drawn with ...
  
  ⇔
  
  columns that do not touch, representing separate categories. ✓
- A histogram is drawn with ...
  
  ⇔
  
  columns that touch, representing a continuous numerical range. ✓
- Both bar charts and histograms have ...
  
  ⇔
  
  frequency values plotted on the y-axis. ✓
Which of the following conclusions could be drawn from the histgram shown?
- Three students had a height in the range 120 to 139 cm. ✓
- There were no students taller than 180 cm.
- There were no students taller than 110 cm.
- The range with the most individuals in it was 150 – 159 cm. ✓
Data for the height of oak trees shows continuous variation. Which type of factors are likely to influence the height of an oak tree?
- only genetic factors
- both environmental and genetic factors ✓
- only environmental factors
- neither genetic factors nor environmental factors

Worksheet

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Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

Using a histogram or line graph to display continuous data.
Plotting data for continuous variation on a histogram.
Interpreting and describing a histogram displaying data for continuous variation.
Continuous variation is usually influenced by many factors, including genetics, the environment and lifestyle.

Common misconception

Using a bar chart to plot continuous data. Features with continuous variation are only due to genetic factors.

The lesson explores why a histogram or line graph is the correct choice for plotting discontinuous data, and the idea that continuous variation is usually influenced by many factors, including genetics, the environment and lifestyle.

Keywords

Continuous variation - Variation which can take any one of many values over a continuous range.
Line graph - A graph displaying continuous data plotted as points joined with a line.
Histogram - A graph displaying continuous data grouped into ranges and plotted as columns that touch.
Environment - Factors in an organism’s surroundings that influence its features.
Genetic - Related to the genetic material (DNA) and genes that an individual has.