Data Detective: Telling Tall Tales About Heights

Investigate 30 years of Indian children's average heights, test claims against the table, and estimate from the trend.

6 micro-lessons

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Stories in Data

Well-organised data can tell stories, and raise new mysteries.

Well-chosen sentences make a story. Well-organised data can tell stories too, and can raise new mysteries or help solve them.

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Which statements can the table justify?

Problem. Which of these statements can be justified using the table? (Math Talk, Textbook p. 127)

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Find the biggest year-to-year growth in 2019.

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In 2019, between which two ages did boys grow the most? (Math Talk, Textbook p. 128)

Estimate heights for young children and for the year 2029.

Make estimates from the data

Math Talk, Textbook p. 128.

Suppose the average newborn is 50 cm long. Estimate the average heights of children aged 1 to 4.
Using the trend in the table, estimate the average heights of boys and girls aged 5 to 19 in the year 2029. (Give a few ages; you needn't do all 15.)
The book's last graph (p. 128) shows the average height of 19-year-olds in many countries, from Timor-Leste to the Netherlands, in 1989 and 2019. Its height axis starts at 145 cm, not 0, to give a zoomed-in look. What do you think of that choice?

Growth is fastest in the first year; age 5 is about 107 cm.

How much did heights change from 2009 to 2019?

What does starting at 145 cm help or hide?

A door built to the family's average height.

$A tall father bumps his head on a low doorway while a small child walks through easily.$

Click to zoom

A door built to the family's average height suits almost nobody. Averages describe groups, not individuals. (Textbook p. 129)