Data Handling – Making Sense of Numbers and the World
- Admin
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
Dear Grade 12s
Every day, you're surrounded by data — in the news, on social media, at school, and at home.
Understanding how to read, analyse, and question that information is not just a skill for your exam — it’s a skill for life.
The Data Handling section in Mathematical Literacy teaches you how to turn numbers into knowledge and graphs into insight.
Let’s walk through it together — clearly and calmly.
📘 What Is Data Handling?
It’s the ability to collect, organise, represent, interpret, and analyse information using tables, graphs, and statistics.
This skill helps you:
Understand trends
Make informed decisions
Spot misleading information
Interpret exam questions with confidence
🔑 Key Topics You Need to Know:
📋 1. Data Collection & Representation
Know how data is collected (e.g., surveys, questionnaires)
Understand how to organise data into tables
Types of graphs:
Bar graphs – for categories
Line graphs – trends over time
Pie charts – proportions
Histograms – grouped data
Box-and-whisker plots – five-number summaries
✅ Tip: Always check if a graph is correctly labelled and scaled!
📊 2. Measures of Central Tendency
These help you summarise data with one number:
Mean (average) = total ÷ number of items
Median = middle value
Mode = most common value
✅ Know how to calculate and compare these values
✅ Be able to explain which one is most appropriate based on a scenario
📐 3. Measures of Spread (Dispersion)
These show how spread out the data is:
Range = highest – lowest
Interquartile range (IQR) = Q3 – Q1
Five-number summary = min, Q1, median, Q3, max (used in box plots)
❗ 4. Misleading Data & Graphs
Sometimes data is used to manipulate or mislead.
Look out for:
Incorrect or uneven scales
Graphs with missing labels
Only showing part of the data to push a message
✅ Always question the source and check how data is presented
🧠 Exam Tips for Data Handling:
✅ Practise drawing and interpreting all graph types
✅ Show clear steps when calculating mean, median, mode, IQR
✅ Use rulers and labels when drawing graphs
✅ Watch out for outliers (extreme values that affect the mean)
✅ Be ready to explain your reasoning in your own words
🌱 Why It Matters
Data handling is a life skill. You’ll use it to:
Read bills, pay slips, or reports
Understand election results, statistics, and trends
Make decisions about health, finance, and business
Analyse information critically — not just accept it
This is Mathematics with purpose. And it empowers you.
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