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Year 10
AQA

Using statistical data in geography

I can use some simple statistics to better understand the values in a set of data.

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Year 10
AQA

Using statistical data in geography

I can use some simple statistics to better understand the values in a set of data.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Univariate data can be statistically analysed using measures of central tendancy.
  2. Data can also be statistically analysed by thinking about proportions and how these change.
  3. The spread of data points across a range of values can be statistically analysed using percentiles.

Keywords

  • Univariate data - data that represents values against one variable

  • Frequency data - data values in a category that show the actual count of something within the data set

  • Percentile - the number of values within a data set that fall below a certain percentage of the total number of values

Common misconception

It is better to use the mean value rather than the mode or the median values.

The mean, median and mode have different purposes but none of the methods produce a result that is thought of as more reliable than the others.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: Using statistical data in geography, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

For students who lack confidence in maths, a variety of statistical calculators are available online. These can be used to check workings and show the stages of calculations.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is bivariate data?
Correct answer: Data where two variables are plotted against each other.
Data that contains both positive and negative values.
Data that can be interpreted more than one way.
Data that has more than two variables within it.
Q2.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of summarising data?
Correct answer: Some of the finer detail in the data may be lost.
The whole data set has to be commented on rather than just one part of it.
It ignores the overall trends and relationships within the data.
It can take a long time to statistically analyse all of the data.
Q3.
Why might a large data set, or sample, be better than a smaller one?
Correct answer: It is more representative of the overall population of data.
It means there are fewer anomalies.
A larger data set creates more interesting patterns in the data.
A small sample is quicker and easier to analyse.
Q4.
Which of these data presentation methods shows proportions of data?
Correct answer: pie chart
scattergraph
bar chart
histogram
Q5.
The maximum percentage value possible is ...
Correct Answer: 100 %, one hundred percent, 100 percent, 100, one hundred
Q6.
A percentage increase means the new value is ...
Correct answer: more than the original value.
less than the original value.
the same as the original value.
always half the original value.

Exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Which term refers to the most common value in a data set?
Correct answer: mode
median
mean
magnitude
Q2.
Which of the following statements are true?
Correct answer: None of the mode, median nor mean values are 'better' to use than the others.
Calculating the mode is the best way to summarise a data set.
Calculating the median is the best way to summarise a data set.
Calculating the mean is the best way to summarise a data set.
Q3.
The number of values that fall below a certain percent of the total number of values is called a ...
Correct Answer: percentile
Q4.
If one data set has a larger interquartile range than another this means that ...
Correct answer: the data is more spread out throughout the data set.
the data is more clustered within the data set.
The minimum and maximum values in the data set are further apart.
The lower quartile is greater than the upper quartile.

Additional material

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