Science Fenns K-5Grades K to 5
A child at a table fills in a chart of bean plant heights next to a ruler and three small cups of green seedlings.

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Data, Patterns and Error

Organize numbers, find the pattern, find the mistake.

Lesson 4 of 40

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Before we start

Today’s story

Data, Patterns and Error

Mrs. Lopez's class grows bean plants by the window. Every morning they measure and write numbers on a sticky note. By Friday the sticky notes are a mess. Nobody can see what the plants are doing.

A chart fixes that. A table puts the days in one column and the heights in another. A graph shows the same numbers as dots or bars. Then a pattern can jump out. A pattern is something that repeats or changes in a steady way.

Not every number fits. Sometimes the ruler slips. Sometimes a person reads the wrong line. That is called error. Good scientists look for it and fix it. Here are the steps.

See it

Five steps. Every time.

    Hands on

    Bean Watch

    15 minutes a day for a week · Do this with a grown-up nearby

    You need

    • Two or three bean seeds in a cup of damp soil or a damp paper towel in a bag
    • A ruler
    • A notebook
    • A pencil
    • A sunny window

    Do this

    1. Plant the seeds and keep them damp.
    2. Measure the tallest seedling each day.
    3. Write the day and the height in a table.
    4. After five days, draw a bar graph.
    5. Subtract to find the growth each day.
    6. Circle any number that does not fit.
    7. Think about what might have caused it.
    Write or draw: A table of day and height in centimeters, and a bar graph of the same numbers.

    Watch for: Notice if growth speeds up or slows down. Notice which numbers might be errors.

    Safety: Wash hands after touching soil and do not eat the seeds.

    Same every time

    Three rules

    Rule 1Label every column.

    Numbers need names and units.

    Rule 2Use math to compare.

    Subtract to find how much each step grew.

    Rule 3Check odd numbers.

    Measure again before you throw one out.

    Grandpa Fenn’s notebook

    Say it like a scientist

    pattern
    Something that repeats or changes in a steady way.
    error
    A mistake or slip that makes a measure wrong.
    table
    Rows and columns that organize data.
    data
    Facts and numbers you collect.

    Poppy’s quiz

    Six questions

    Tap an answer. Green means right. You will see why.

    Talk about it

    Say it out loud

    • How do you know a number is an error and not a real surprise?
    • Where at home or on the farm could a table of numbers help you spot a pattern?
    Did you know

    Astronomers once noticed that Uranus drifted off its expected path. That odd number helped them find Neptune in 1846.

    Someone who does this

    A farm agent keeps tables of rain and crop height to spot patterns by season.

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