Presenting fitness data

Learn how to graphically represent a range of fitness levels

This engineering activity provides students with the opportunity to collect and present data and think about different presentation techniques.

The data collected will be used as evidence to debate whether people should be encouraged to engage in computer-based sports activities.

Do computer “anytime fitness” games really have the same benefits as more traditional fitness activities? Through this activity, students will be able to use their data to start answering this question.

This free resource is aimed at secondary school students. It was designed as a mathematics activity and should be preceded by the ‘Wii Fitness?’ activity.

Activity introduction
In this engaging STEM task students will use the data gathered during an investigation to contextualise frequency curves.

The ‘Can using a Games Console Make You Fitter?’ worksheet used in the corresponding ‘Wii Fitness?’ activity generates cumulative data on pulse rates and levels of fitness. Actual collection of data could easily be carried out a Mathematics teacher – no specialist equipment is required.

These can be prepared in advance based on datasets prepared by the teacher or teachers could use data from different classes, year groups or gender groups to allow a comparison.

Working in groups of 4-6, students should be given this data. Each team should decide how to group this data and then draw a cumulative frequency graph. From this, they should identify the median and quartiles and use this information to draw a box plot.

This activity will take approximately 30 minutes.

What you will need
Projector
Whiteboard

The engineering context
The ‘Who’s the winner’ scheme of work provides students with an opportunity to collect data which they can use as evidence to debate whether people should be encouraged to engage in computer-based sport activities. The investigation highlights how difficult it is to control all variables and therefore carry out a fair test. The students’ evaluation of the investigation will allow them the chance to question the validity of the data, question the size of the Data set used and question the time span data needs to be collected over before it can be used to confirm a claim.

Suggested learning outcomes
By the end of this activity learners will be able to plot cumulative frequency diagrams.

Download the activity sheets for free!

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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