Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
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ScienceWorking scientifically30 min★★★ difficulty

Patterns, anomalies and honest conclusions

Data does not speak for itself. This lesson is about calculating a fair mean, spotting anomalies, describing a pattern properly and writing a conclusion the data actually supports.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Working scientifically: Interpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations to draw conclusions

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Interpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations to draw conclusions

Key learning points

  • • Means and anomalies
  • • Graphs that show the trend
  • • Describing a pattern precisely
  • • Conclusions and their limits

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 18 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

interpretobservationsidentifyingpatternsconclusions

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 18 · Discover6%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 18

Watch first

Patterns, anomalies and honest conclusions

An English teaching video on this topic from Smart Learning Ltd. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

Do it for real

The practicals below use what the film shows, with a full method you can follow at home.

The paper helicopter fair testRepeat readings and the anomaly hunt

In a nutshell

Interpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations to draw conclusions

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 18

Before we start

What you already know

You should be able to plot a line graph with the independent variable on the x-axis.

Recap: Planning a fair test
3

Key words

Part 3 of 18

Key words

Words you'll need today

Mean
The average of repeats, calculated after excluding anomalies.
Anomaly
A result that does not fit the pattern.
Correlation
A relationship between two variables.
Line of best fit
A smooth line or curve showing the trend, not joining every dot.
Conclusion
What the data shows, answering the original question.
4

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 18

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Processing results

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 18

Learn

Means and anomalies

Three repeats give 24, 25 and 38 bubbles per minute. The 38 is an anomaly, so exclude it and average the other two: 24.5. Including it would drag the mean to 29 and distort the graph. Say in your write-up that you excluded it and suggest why - perhaps a bubble stuck to the stem and released late.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 18

Learn

Graphs that show the trend

Independent variable on the x-axis, dependent on the y, sensible scales, axes labelled with units. Draw a line of best fit rather than dot-to-dot: the line represents the trend, and points scattered around it are normal. If the points curve, draw a smooth curve rather than forcing a straight line.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 18

Quick check

Repeats of 24, 25 and 38 give a fair mean of...

8

Reset break

Part 8 of 18

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
9

Quick check

Part 9 of 18

Quick check

The independent variable is plotted on the...

10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 18

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Describing and concluding

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 18

Learn

Describing a pattern precisely

'As distance from the lamp increases, the rate of bubbling decreases' is a description. Better: 'the rate decreases as distance increases, steeply at first and then levelling off beyond 40 cm.' Quote figures from your data. Naming the direction, the shape and any turning point is what full marks look like.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 18

Learn

Conclusions and their limits

A conclusion answers the question using the pattern and the science: light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis because more light energy is absorbed by chlorophyll. Then be honest about limits - it was one piece of pondweed, five distances, one temperature - and remember that a correlation does not by itself prove one thing caused the other.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 18

Quick check

Which is the better pattern description?

14

Quick check

Part 14 of 18

Quick check

A conclusion should...

15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 18

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • Do not include an anomaly in a mean.
  • A line of best fit is not dot-to-dot.
  • The independent variable goes on the x-axis.
  • Correlation does not prove cause; look for a mechanism.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 18

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Mastery quiz

Part 17 of 18

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Patterns, anomalies and honest conclusions

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. An anomaly is a result that...

  2. 2. A line of best fit should...

  3. 3. Axes must be labelled with...

  4. 4. Correlation between two variables means...

  5. 5. Stating the limits of your conclusion makes it...

  6. 6. Excluding an anomaly should be...

18

Lesson round-up

Part 18 of 18

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Why the school greenhouse failed

A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.

The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.

The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
  2. Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
  3. Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.

  • Method and results

    Writing

    Write the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.

    1 page + results table

  • Conclusion

    Writing

    Explain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.

    6–8 sentences

  • Labelled diagram

    Diagram

    Draw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.

    1 labelled diagram

  • Reading and notes

    Reading

    Read the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.

    Half a page of notes

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 18 · Watch & discover

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    Interpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations to draw conclusions

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