Lesson 6 of 10 · Chapter 6
The Sports League Manager
You manage the Youth Sports League. In this lesson you read standings tables, read bar graphs and line plots, find the mean, mode and range, and use data to predict a season and decide who makes the playoffs.
Choose how you want to learn
You can change this any time. Press Listen on any part to hear it read aloud. Grown-ups: read along with younger children.
- 1 · Reading a table
- 2 · Bar graphs
- 3 · Mean, mode and range
- 4 · Predictions
- 5 · Will they make it?
- 6 · The whole chapter
- 7 · Try it at home
- 8 · Your card
- 9 · Check yourself
Part 1
Reading a standings table
A table puts information in rows and columns so you can find it fast.
Each row is a team. Each column is one kind of number: wins, losses, ties, games.
To answer a question, find the right row, then the right column.
In the book’s league, the Eagles won 8 of their 11 games. That is the fraction 8/11 of their games won. Dividing, 8 ÷ 11 is about 0.727, or about 73%.
Tables also let you add down a column. Wins for all four teams: 8 + 7 + 5 + 2 = 22.
Wins + losses + ties must equal games played. If they do not add up, the table has a mistake.
“Eagles lead with 8 wins. Lions have most losses.”
“Win percentage: 8 ÷ 11 ≈ 0.727 = about 73%”
Read the table and answer. Five right to finish.
Part 2
Reading a bar graph
A bar graph turns numbers into bars. The taller the bar, the bigger the number.
The tallest bar is the best day. The shortest bar is the lowest day.
The book’s week: Monday 42, Tuesday 38, Wednesday 51, Thursday 45, Friday 44. Wednesday’s bar is tallest; Tuesday’s is shortest.
The range is the tallest minus the shortest: 51 − 38 = 13. The total adds every bar: 220 points.
A goal line across the graph shows at a glance which days reached it.
“Highest bar = best score: Wednesday with 51 points”
“Shortest bar = lowest score: Tuesday with 38 points”
Read the bar graph and answer. Five right to finish.
Part 3
Mean, mode and range
Mean (average): add all the numbers, then divide by how many there are.
Mode: the number that shows up most often.
Range: the highest minus the lowest.
Scores 45, 52, 48, 52, 55: they add to 252, and there are 5 of them. 252 ÷ 5 = 50.4, so the mean is 50.4 points. A mean can be a decimal even when every score is a whole number.
Scores 48, 52, 48, 55, 48, 52: 48 appears 3 times, more than any other, so the mode is 48.
A line plot shows the mode at a glance: one X for each score, stacked over its number. The tallest stack is the mode.
“Mean (Average): Add all values, divide by count”
“Mode: The value that appears most often”
“Range: Difference between highest and lowest values”
Find the mean, the mode or the range. Five right to finish.
Part 4
Predicting the season
Data helps you predict what will probably happen.
If a team averages 45 points a game, then over 20 games it will score about 45 × 20 = 900 points.
Percentages predict too. A team that wins 60% of its games, over 20 games, should win about 60% of 20 = 0.60 × 20 = 12 games.
If you know a total for some games, find the rate first. 180 points in 4 games is 45 per game, so 10 games is about 450 points.
A prediction is a careful guess, not a promise: real seasons can surprise you.
“Predicted total: 45 × 20 = 900 points for the season”
“Predicted wins: 60% of 20 = 0.60 × 20 = 12 wins”
Use the data to predict. Five right to finish.
Part 5
Will they make the playoffs?
A manager decides with data. If a team must average 50 or more, find the mean of its scores and compare it with 50.
Scores 48, 52, 46, 55: they add to 201. 201 ÷ 4 = 50.25. That is more than 50, so yes, they make it, just barely.
Notice that two of the four scores were below 50. The mean balances the high games against the low ones.
“GOAL CHECK: Need 50+ average. Scores: 48, 52, 46, 55. Will they make it?”
Decide with the numbers, then explain with the mean. Three right to finish.
Part 6
Read the whole chapter
Here is all of Chapter 6, “The Sports League Manager”, exactly as the book tells it, with every worked example, all 60 practice problems and the Action Report. Press Listen to hear it read aloud, or open it and work along with a pencil.
Open Chapter 6
Part 7
Try it at home
Do these with your family. Tick each one when it is done.
Part 8
Your “League Manager” card
Fill it in, then print it for the fridge. Nothing you type here leaves this device.
League Manager’s Card
Global Sovereign University · Grade 4 Mathematics, lesson 6
Data words
- Mean: add them all, divide by how many.
- Mode: the one that shows up most.
- Range: highest minus lowest.
- Predict: rate × how many.
Part 9
Check yourself
6 questions. Pick an answer. If it is not right, read the hint and try again.
Lesson 6 complete.
You can read tables and bar graphs, find the mean, mode and range, predict a season, and decide with data. Next: Lesson 7, The Savings Account. Back to the class.
Homeschooling Math Books for Kids: Grade 4 by Dr. Gene A Constant. This lesson is Chapter 6, and the whole chapter is on this page.
GSU is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and book sales are its only income. A purchase is not a tax-deductible donation. This lesson is free and always will be.