Mean Data: to find the mean, add the values of all the entries and then divide by the number of entries.
Median Data: the median is the middle value of an ordered distribution. To find the median you would need to order the values from smallest to the largest then pick out the middle score. If the data set has an even number of entries, add the two middle values and divide by two.
Mode Data: The mode is the value that occurs most frequently in the data set. To find the mode you have to count how many times each value appears and the value that appears most is the mode.
Interval Data: this data type implies continuous data values, which follow a linear scale.
Accuracy: this is when the information is truthful to what it is reporting on. For example if a stopwatch was used to time a swimmer and it measured him at 25.5 seconds but he really swam 25.2 seconds the stopwatch is inaccurate, but if it measured him right, it would be accurate.
Precision: is the amount of care that is taken during the measuring process. This is the quality of being reproducible in the amount or the performance. When taking measurements of the same thing you should use the same specific method, repeating the measurement a sufficient amount of times, this means it is more accurate. Precision can be checked using a statistical measure of precision called standard deviation.
Reliability: this is whether or not the information is good enough to be relied on and quoted from. If the information came from a good source it would be known as reliable. For example if you were watching the news and they told you the rugby results were 2-0 to England, you would believe them to be reliable because of the source which is the news and their sources (which are primary) But if your friend told you the results and he was not a Rugby supporter and you know he didn’t see the match this would be unreliable information. Primary sources are usually deemed more reliable than secondary sources.
Validity: this is how much the information/data gathered relates back to the reason you did the test. For example if you wanted find out somebody’s weight you wouldn’t make them do sit-ups because it wouldn’t be valid, but if you weighed them on scales this would be valid.
4. Bibliography
Sport and PE textbook
Class notes
Sport Research project
Hypothesis/Null:
Hypothesis: My hypothesis is that heavy people jump lower than light people.
Hypothesis null: My hypothesis null is that light people jump higher than heavy people.
Introduction:
It is expected that boys are heavier than girls as they have a larger muscle mass because they have more testosterone. As muscle weighs more than fat, a girl of the same height and size of a boy will be lighter because she should have more fat. If I was using scientific facts in order to work out a prediction for my final results I would have to say that weight does not affect the height a person can jump because the test I am going to use is a power test, and the power will come from each persons muscles in the legs. So if somebody has big leg muscles it means they are going to be pretty heavy yet they are quite likely to have strong leg muscles as regular exercise can increase muscle size.
I am going to conduct an experiment in order to find out whether weight affects the height that a person can jump. Using the vertical jump test will test this. I will use scientific facts as a way of predicting the result and I will use the average height jumped for each person, then compare it with the weight of that same person in order to get my results for my experiment. I have chosen to do this experiment because I think that my results will prove the scientific prediction wrong. I believe that weight does affect the height in which a person can jump. I believe this because the heavier a person is; the more they have to fight against gravity in order to get more height on their jump.
Method:
The Jump;
- Step 1: I will get my volunteers to stand against a wall sideways with piece of chalk in their hand.
- Step 2: I will ask them to reach above their head as stretched as they can be without tip toeing, then mark the point at the peak of their reach.
- Step 3: They will take their arm down and standing on the same spot, jump as high as they can. While in mid-air, at the highest point of the jump, they will mark the wall again with the chalk at arms length above their head.
- Step 4: To measure the height that each person jumped, I will use a meter ruler and measure the distance in (centimetres) between the two lines made.
The Weight Test;
- In order to test my volunteers weight I will simply use weighing scales measuring each person in (stone).
Equipment:
Chalk (a different colour to the wall being marked), human weighing scales, a meter ruler.
Results:
Discussion:
My results have found that weight does affect the height a person can jump. This is proved as the heaviest person jumped the lowest height and the lightest person jumped the highest height. I cannot say why these results have been found as there were not enough tests done to ensure accurate results. Therefore my answer is closer to an estimate than a fact.
Other variables needed to take in consideration are:
- Disabilities: - a person with an ankle disability will find it harder to jump as high as a person without an ankle disability.
- Medical Conditions: - a person who could have a bruised muscle in his/her leg might not be fit enough to jump the highest they possibly can.
- Food and Drink: - if my volunteers ate or drank before my experiment they would have been a different weight from what they really are therefore it would make the test unfair.
- Age: - the human body naturally slowly deteriorates as we get older, so a teenager is likely to be able to jump higher than an old age pensioner.
Conclusion:
I have realized throughout this experiment that my test was not as accurate as it could be because there are many variables you would need to consider in order to make fair decision on the result of this test. For example, if one of my volunteers was a basket ball player that trains regularly, they are likely to be able to jump higher than somebody who plays snooker as you do not have to jump in snooker.
