Year 9 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 10
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Learning Goals
True or False? Fix the false ones
Circle T or F for each statement. If the statement is false, rewrite it correctly on the line below.
Volume, variety and velocity are three features used to describe a large dataset.
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A satellite photograph is an example of structured data because it is collected by a machine.
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Citizen science projects, where volunteers record sightings, help build large datasets.
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A bigger dataset is always more trustworthy than a smaller one.
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Scenario
The Bureau of Meteorology runs more than 700 automatic weather stations across Australia. Each station records temperature, rainfall, wind speed and humidity every minute, all day, every day, and has done so for many years.
(a) Explain how this weather collection shows high volume and high variety. Refer to the scenario.
(b) The data arrives every minute, without stopping. Which feature of a large dataset does this describe, and why?
(c) Give two useful things the Bureau of Meteorology can do with this large dataset that it could not do with a single thermometer reading.
1. The Atlas of Living Australia builds its species dataset partly from citizen scientists uploading photos of plants and animals. Suggest one strength and one weakness of collecting data this way.
2. A fitness company collects step counts from millions of people, but only from those who own its expensive smartwatch. Explain why this dataset cannot fairly describe how active all Australians are, and name one change that would improve it.
Wrap Up
In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?