GCSE Physics (OCR A)

Topic Summaries

Science skills: Presenting and using data

Presenting data

  • Frequency tables are used to record results from experiments. The first column should be the independent variable, and headers should include units.
Example frequency table
Indepedent variable, 𝒳 (s) Measured variable, y (m) Calculated dependent variable, y² (m²)
1 2 3 Mean
1 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.7
2 2.8 2.6 3 2.8 7.8
3 3.7 3.2 3.8 3.6 12.7
  • Bar charts are used to compare categoric variables to continuous variables.

  • Histograms show how a set of continuous data fits into grouped categories.
    • The height of each bar represents the frequency density. 
    • The area of each bar is proportional to the number of data values in the group.
    • The bars should all be touching.

  • Line graphs compare two continuous variables.
    • Recorded data is plotted onto a graph. The x and y coordinates of each point correspond to a value for the independent and dependent variable, respectively.
    • A smooth curve is drawn to show the general relationship. This should be close to as many points as possible, excluding outliers.

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