Data Detectives Guide and Activity Solutions

Data Detectives
Teacher Guide &

Activity
Solutions
Data Detectives Guide and Solutions
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 3
Playing Data Detectives ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Level 1 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
1 – Alien Study (Filtering) ................................................................................................................................. 5
2 – Countries of the World (Sorting) ............................................................................................................. 6
3 – The Solar System (Graphing) ................................................................................................................... 7
4 – Food Truck (Grouping) ............................................................................................................................... 8
5 – Pet Spa (Linking Tables) ..........................................................................................................................11
Level 2 .......................................................................................................................................................................13
Who Stole the Cake? (Filtering) ....................................................................................................................13
School Scores (Linking and Grouping) .......................................................................................................14
Weather Data .....................................................................................................................................................15
Bestselling Books ..............................................................................................................................................17
Deforestation ......................................................................................................................................................20
Level 3 .......................................................................................................................................................................22
Zario the Zookeeper .........................................................................................................................................22
The Mystery of the Missing Panda 1...........................................................................................................26
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2
Data Detectives - Introduction
Introduction
Data Detectives is a structured game that teaches increasingly complex data analysis methods.
Children work with large datasets through purposeful investigative activities to answer
questions about the data and solve mysteries or find out more about what the dataset can
show.
The built in Data Detectives activities are organised into three levels. The task become more
complex through the levels:
• Level 1 - Tutorial level: Each activity teaches an individual skill with data such as filtering or
sorting.
• Level 2 – Integrating skills: These activities require more than one skill to complete the
stages.
• Level 3 – Linked challenges: These activities are all linked to a zoo scenario. The children
will be solving the mystery of who stole a panda named Pei
Each activity includes full instructions for solving the questions, hints and also quizzes to check
children’s understanding of what they have found out.
Playing Data Detectives

• Children simply open a level (or open the 2Do as usual).
• The first screen contains information about the scenario and the dataset. Narrated
instructions are also available by clicking the play button at the top.
• The first screen also shows the number of stages in the level.
• The question for the first level is posed.
To begin, press the start button.

3
Data Detectives - Introduction
• Initially, the children will be able to use just the database functionality needed for the
stage. The complexity of data functions available increases as the stages and levels
progress.
Once a child feels that they have completed the stage, they should click the
Assess button.
• Feedback will be given if the data has not been analysed as expected. This includes a
hint. Children are asked to Keep Trying.
• If the data has been correctly analysed e.g. through filtering\sorting\ordering, there
might be a question to answer about the subset of data to encourage children to
understand what the subset shows. Answering incorrectly will bring up the hint and a
chance to try again.
• If this is answered correctly (or there is no question), the child will get a Stage
completed message and can click the button to move to the next stage.
• In some levels, the data analysis is cumulative e.g. the filtering from the previous level
continues through the stages of the level so the child analyses the data in more depth as
they progress.
• In some levels the original dataset is reverted to.
• In some levels, new, related datasets are included and in later levels children will be
linking tables and working with multiple tables of data together.
TIP: Remind children to read the hints and to check the spelling of any search terms if they
are stuck; these will need to be precise and correct for the computer to recognise.
• Once the level is complete, the child will get a congratulatory message and be return to
the main Data Detectives screen.
Levels do not have to be tackled in order but this is recommended as the tasks get
increasingly complex.
In Level 3, all activities form part of an investigative story, so doing them out of order,
misses the storyline.

4
Data Detective Solutions
Level 1
Level 1
1 – Alien Study (Filtering)
Stage Data Solution Quiz solution
1 Can you filter the data for all aliens from the
planet Zorg?
2 Can you filter the data to find all the aliens who
do NOT have 2 eyes?
3 Find all the aliens who like to eat chips.
4 Find all of the aliens whose names START

WITH the letter ‘G’.
5 Find all the aliens who live on the Moon AND

enjoy bone collecting.

5
Level 1
2 – Countries of the World (Sorting)

1 Use the sort function to sort the data by
population with the country with the
smallest population first.
2 Use the sort function to sort the data by

population with the country with the largest
population first.
3 Sort the data by population density to find

the country with the fewest people per km².
4 Sort the data by the size of the land of the

country with the largest country first.

6
Level 1
3 – The Solar System (Graphing)

1 Create a bar chart to show the planet on the x-axis and the
number of moons on the y-axis.
2 Sort the data by distance to the sun with the nearest

planets appearing first.
Other acceptable answers are:

60million km; 60000000 km;
60000000km (with and without
commas)
3 Make a line graph as follows:
• y axis: average temperature of the sunny side of the
planet.
• x axis: distance to the sun.
4 You want to investigate whether the larger the planet, the

shorter the day.
• How should you sort the data? You want to see the
largest planet first in the table. What field measures
this?
• Sort the data appropriately then click ‘Assess’.
5 Create a line graph to show diameter on the x axis and

length of a day on the y axis.

7
Level 1
4 – Food Truck (Grouping)

1 Sort the data by date with the earliest date first.
2 Create a line graph showing date on x-axis and ice

cream sales on the y-axis.
3 • For this stage, group the data by month.

• We want to see the average sales of ice cream for
each month so chose the appropriate option for
this.
• Create a line graph with month on the x-axis and
average ice cream sales on the y-axis.

8
Level 1
4 • This time, we want to see the average sales of
hot chocolate for each month so chose the
appropriate option for this.
• Create a line graph to show the data like you did
for the ice cream.
5 • Create a line graph of maximum daily

temperature and average daily ice cream sales.
• Sort the data appropriately so you can see what
happens to sales as the temperature increases. Also accepted: ‘greater’
• To make this less crowded, group the data by

maximum daily temperature.
• Remember to use an appropriate calculation to
show average sales of ice cream.
• Re-create the graph to show sales as the
temperature increases.

9
Level 1
6 Repeat the process to see whether there was a
relationship between average daily hot chocolate
sales and maximum daily temperature?
7 • This time group the data by location.

• Add two calculations; average ice cream sales and
average hot chocolate sales.
• Create a bar graph to show location on the x-axis
and average ice cream sales on the y-axis.
8 Investigate the hot chocolate sales to see whether

they show similar sales to the ice cream one.

10
Level 1
5 – Pet Spa (Linking Tables)

1 • Use filtering to find out what treatment
Admiral had on 19th January 2021?
• You must filter for both date and name to
complete the level.
2 • Look at the Treatments table, can you find

the description for this treatment?
<Click on the tab for the Treatments table>
3 • Link the two tables together so that you can
search the database to find both pieces of
information instead of searching manually.
4 • Search the database with the tables linked to

find out how many pets had a massage on
24/02/2021.

11
Level 1
5 • Clear the filter
• Group by pet name.
• Calculate the total cost for each pet's
treatments.
• Sort the data with the highest spender first
• Create a bar chart to show the results.
6 • Group by treatment description and find the

average feedback rating for each treatment.
• Present this in a bar chart with the highest
rated treatment on the right of the graph.

12
Level 2
Level 2
Who Stole the Cake? (Filtering)
1 • Use the search to narrow our data to only show
those with hazel or green eyes.
2 • Can we narrow our search to only include people

taller than 160 cm?
3 • Can you narrow our search further?
4 • Can you count how many suspects we have left.
5 • Look at the remaining suspects. Which one do

you think is the most likely culprit now? Click on
the table row that contains their data.

13
Level 2
School Scores (Linking and Grouping)

1 • Link the two tables together using the
student name fields to link them.
2 • Group the data by student name.

• In the Calculate box, choose the average
score for each student
3 • Sort the data displaying the highest-

scoring students first in the data table.
4 • Can you identify the top student, the one

who has the highest average scores?

14
Level 2
Weather Data
1 • Sort to find the maximum temperature
reached.
• Look at the year that the maximum

temperature was recorded.
2 Create a line graph to show the maximum

temperature changing over time.
• The X axis should be date.

• The Y Axis should be maximum
temperature.
• Consider the sorting of the data. What
sort ordering would produce the
correct graph?
3 This graph is a bit hectic. Use grouping to

summarize the data per year.
• Add a group to group the data by year.

• Add a calculation to add the average
maximum temperature.
• Plot year on the X axis and average
maximum temperature on the Y Axis.
Consider how the data is ordered.
• Can we see an overall trend?

15
Level 2
4 Use sorting to find the year that had the

highest average maximum temperature.

16
Level 2
Bestselling Books
1 • Filter the data to find any Harry Potter book.
2 • Group the data by book title and add the

sales together for each group.
3 • Create a bar graph showing the book title on

the x axis and the sales on the y axis.
4 • Try sorting the data by sales with the

highest sales to the left of the graph to see
whether this is clearer.
5 • Remove the grouping by title and group the

sales by year they were first published.
• When you group, you need to decide what
data to show for each group: Use the
Calculate box to show the average sales for
each year once you have grouped.

17
Level 2
• Sort the data by sales with the highest

selling years first
• Create a bar graph showing year on the x
axis and average sales on the y axis.
6 • Filter for the best sellers that were published

in 1990.
7 • Filter for the best sellers that were published

in 1990.
• Search the bestsellers published in 1990 to

find all the hardback books published by
Random House.
• Sort the data by sales with the highest seller
first.

18
Level 2

19
Level 2
Deforestation
1 • Sort the data to find the year with the
lowest annual forest loss.
• Sort the data again to find the year with the

greatest annual rainforest loss.
• Sort the data in the best way to show loss

over time.
• Create a scatter graph showing year on the
x axis and annual forest loss on the y axis.
• Sort the data in the best way to show loss

over time.
• Create a line graph of estimated percentage
of 1970 coverage remaining against year.
• Link the Rainforest Loss data table to the

World Population data table.
• You will need to decide on suitable field to
link.

20
Level 2
• Create a scatter graph of annual forest loss

(y axis) against population (x axis).

21
Level 3
Level 3
Zario the Zookeeper
1 • Group the data by month and show the
average number of visitors for each month.
• Plot a line graph to show this information in
a month by month order.
2 • Search the data to find all the dates on

which there were less than 5 members of
staff per visitor.
3 • Group the data by month and calculate a

count of the occasions where the ratio is too
low.
• Sort the data to show the month with the
greatest need for more staff.

22
Level 3
4 • Switch to the Tracking table tab.
• Link the Tracking table and the Zoo Areas
table using the code to match the records.
• Filter the data to look at visitor id 99.
• Sort by area.
5 • Remove the filter so you see all the data

again.
• Group by animal name (Zoo Areas.Animals)
and calculate the count of visitors.
• Create a bar chart to show the animals on
the x-axis and the count on the y-axis.
6 • First sort the data in the Visitor Number

table to find the busiest day of the year.
• Switch to the Tracking table and filter for
the data for that date.
• Create a pie chart to show the visitor
distribution to the different areas on the
busiest day of the year. The data should
show the name of the area and the count of

23
Level 3
the tracked visitors. You will need to use

grouping to do this.
Visitor Numbers table:
Tracking Table:
7 • Remove the date filter.

• Add another field to the grouping to show
the cost in the table, this is called Zoo
Areas.Cost per day (£)
• Sort the data by Cost per day with the
lowest cost first.
• Create a line graph to show cost on the x-
axis and count on the y axis: the count is the
count of the number of visitors to that area.
This graph can be made clearer by displaying

the animal names on the x-axis instead as it
is already sorted by cost:
• Change the graph to show Zoo

Areas.Animals on the x-axis and see that the
distribution of data is the same.

24
Level 3
Zario hopes that the more expensive areas of

the zoo attract more visitors. Is this always
the case from looking at the graph?
• Notice which areas are especially expensive

(high costs and low visitor numbers)
• Which areas seem to be good value (low
cost and high visitor numbers)

25
Level 3
The Mystery of the Missing Panda 1

1 • Filter the data to find all the grey or silver
cars.
2 • Filter the data to eliminate the vehicles that

could not tow a trailer.

26
Level 3

1 • Group the data by garden centre (name).
• Calculate the total bamboo sales.
• Create a bar chart to show this data.
2 • Filter the data just to show Feywood

Nursery: use the ‘contains’ criteria in the
search so you don’t have to type the whole
garden centre name.
• Create a line graph to show bamboo sales
by month.
3 • Filter the data just to show Prufrock

Nurseries: use the ‘contains’ criteria in the
search so you don’t have to type the whole
garden centre name.

27
Level 3
• Create a line graph to show bamboo sales

by month. Notice if there was a June peak in
sales.
• Change the filtering to show the same data
for Skywards Garden centre.

28
Level 3

1 • Graph the data showing sales (y-axis)
against the date (x-axis) in order to identify
any unusually large sales of bamboo.
• Use a line graph.
2 • Filter the data to show all cars that were

parked on any of the three suspicious dates:
04/06/2021, 09/06/2021 and 21/06/2021
On Car Park table:
3 • Group by the number plate

• Calculate the count
4 • Filter by count to identify the cars.
5 • Filter the cars to narrow down the suspects

further.

29
Level 3

1 • Join these two tables on the appropriate field.
2 • Refine the data further to narrow down the

suspect car.
3 • Refine the data once again.
4 • Take a look at the data and determine the

address code for the house to send the police to.
• Select the suspect rows of the table by sorting
on address code and clicking on the rows, once
you have viewed the data.

30

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Data Detectives

Teacher Guide &

Need more support? Contact us:

Playing Data Detectives

To begin, press the start button.

Need more support? Contact us:

Need more support? Contact us:

3 Find all the aliens who like to eat chips.

4 Find all of the aliens whose names START

5 Find all the aliens who live on the Moon AND

Need more support? Contact us:

2 – Countries of the World (Sorting)

2 Use the sort function to sort the data by

3 Sort the data by population density to find

4 Sort the data by the size of the land of the

Need more support? Contact us:

3 – The Solar System (Graphing)

2 Sort the data by distance to the sun with the nearest

Other acceptable answers are:

4 You want to investigate whether the larger the planet, the

5 Create a line graph to show diameter on the x axis and

Need more support? Contact us:

4 – Food Truck (Grouping)

2 Create a line graph showing date on x-axis and ice

3 • For this stage, group the data by month.

Need more support? Contact us:

5 • Create a line graph of maximum daily

• To make this less crowded, group the data by

Need more support? Contact us:

7 • This time group the data by location.

8 Investigate the hot chocolate sales to see whether

Need more support? Contact us:

5 – Pet Spa (Linking Tables)

2 • Look at the Treatments table, can you find

4 • Search the database with the tables linked to

Need more support? Contact us:

6 • Group by treatment description and find the

Need more support? Contact us:

2 • Can we narrow our search to only include people

3 • Can you narrow our search further?

4 • Can you count how many suspects we have left.

5 • Look at the remaining suspects. Which one do

Need more support? Contact us:

School Scores (Linking and Grouping)

2 • Group the data by student name.

3 • Sort the data displaying the highest-

4 • Can you identify the top student, the one

Need more support? Contact us:

• Look at the year that the maximum

2 Create a line graph to show the maximum

• The X axis should be date.

3 This graph is a bit hectic. Use grouping to

• Add a group to group the data by year.

Need more support? Contact us:

4 Use sorting to find the year that had the

Need more support? Contact us:

2 • Group the data by book title and add the

3 • Create a bar graph showing the book title on