High School
SAT
ACT
University
MCAT
LSAT
DAT
Wize High School Grade 9 Math Textbook > Data Analysis

Intro to Data & Mathematical Modelling

Angles and Segments in CirclesPrevious Section
Data CollectionNext Section
Popular Courses
Find My Course
0:00 / 0:00

What is Data?

Data are facts and information that we collect and analyze so that we can answer questions about our world. Datum is the singular form of data, meaning a single fact or information.

Variables are attributes that we are trying to measure and collect data on.

There are many types of data, here's how we classify them:

Examples
Classify the following data collected from passengers at the Toronto Pearson Airport on January 1, 2000.
  • The names of each passenger ➡
    Qualitative data
  • The height of each passenger ➡
    Quantitative data ; Continuous data
  • The year that each passenger was born ➡
    Quantitative data ; Discrete data
  • The number of pets that each passenger has ➡
    Quantitative data ; Discrete data

Once we have data, we can use mathematical modelling to help us answer questions about real-world problems.
0:00 / 0:00

Mathematical Modelling

Mathematical modelling is when you use data and math to represent, understand, analyze, and make predictions about real-world phenomena.

Here's the general process for mathematical modelling with data
  1. Define the problem
  • What are you asking? What are you trying to find out?
  • To simplify the problem, we may need to make assumptions so we can focus on only the most important factors
  1. Define the relevant variables
  • What factors will affect the answer to the question or our decision regarding a problem
  • This will inform us about what data we need to collect
  1. Collect data
  • How will we collect the data? What is the source, meaning, where do the data come from?
  • How much data do you need? If it's historical data, how far back in time does your data have to go?
  • What assumptions do we have to make about the data?
  • What limitations are there with the data?
  1. Analyze & model the data
  • Use the math you know to make sense of the data (build your model)
  1. Examine the model & answer the question
  • Use your analysis and model to answer the question - what can I learn from my model?
  • Does the answer make sense?
  1. Report your results
  • Share your results with the relevant stakeholders using a presentation slide, infographic, report, story-telling, etc.

0:00 / 0:00

Example: Population Data and Mathematical Modelling


checklist
Mark Yourself Question
  1. Grab a piece of paper and try this problem yourself.
  2. When you're done, check the "I have answered this question" box below.
  3. View the solution and report whether you got it right or wrong.

Practice: Data and Mathematical Modelling

For each of the following scenarios,
  1. identify the data you could collect to help answer the question.
  2. what type of data is it?

a) Your high school cafeteria wants to start selling ice-cream. What flavours should they sell in order to maximize revenue?

b) You want to plan a beach trip for a day when the beach is least busy. How many people will be at the beach on a certain day?
checklist
Mark Yourself Question
  1. Grab a piece of paper and try this problem yourself.
  2. When you're done, check the "I have answered this question" box below.
  3. View the solution and report whether you got it right or wrong.

Practice: Asking the Right Question

Choose a topic that you are interested in. Create a question you want to answer using data and mathematical modelling.