Year 8 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 6

Identifying Trends, Relationships and Patterns

Foundation Worksheet

Name

Date

Class

Learning Goals

Define the terms trend, direct relationship, inverse relationship, no correlation, cyclical pattern, and correlation.
Classify examples of pairs of variables into the correct relationship type.
Explain why correlation does not mean causation.

Warm Up

Match each term to its definition

Draw a line connecting each term on the left to its correct definition on the right. Or write the matching letter next to each term.

Term	Your answer	Definition
Trend		A. A relationship where one variable increases as the other decreases.
Direct relationship		B. A statistical relationship where two variables tend to change together, though one may not cause the other.
Inverse relationship		C. A pattern that repeats at regular intervals, such as seasonal temperature changes.
Cyclical pattern		D. A relationship where both variables increase together.
Correlation		E. The general direction or pattern in which data changes over time or across conditions.

Your Turn

Sort it!

Write each pair of variables into the correct relationship column: Direct, Inverse, or No correlation.

As temperature rises, ice cream sales increase As study hours increase, error rate on tests decreases As shoe size increases, IQ changes As fertiliser concentration increases, plant height increases (up to a point) As distance from the equator increases, average temperature decreases As the number of fire stations increases, the number of fires increases As reaction time increases, the number of car accidents increases As a person's birth month changes, their athletic ability changes

Direct relationship

Inverse relationship

No correlation

Show What You Know

1. Use the sentence structure "As [IV] increases, [DV] increases/decreases" to describe a direct relationship and then an inverse relationship. Write one example of each using variables you could measure at school.

Recall 2 marks

2. Explain why "fire stations and fires" (the more fire stations, the more fires) is NOT evidence that fire stations cause fires. What is the real reason both variables increase together?

Recall 2 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?