What Is Data – Science Reading and Worksheet

Help your students build a strong foundation in scientific thinking with this engaging What Is Data? science reading comprehension activity! Students will learn what data are, why scientists collect data, the difference between qualitative and quantitative data, and how data are used to answer scientific questions.

This resource is the perfect introduction before teaching graphing, data analysis, CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning), or the scientific method. It provides students with the background knowledge they need before they begin interpreting graphs, analyzing experiments, or drawing conclusions from evidence.

Topics Covered:

• What is data?
• Why scientists collect data
• Scientific questions and investigations
• Qualitative vs. quantitative data
• Observations vs. measurements
• Examples of scientific data
• Why accurate data are important in science

In this activity, students will:

• READ the informative 2-page text What is Data? about data and how it is used.
• DEFINE key terms from the text.
• ANSWER text-dependent questions. All answers come from the text – no prior knowledge is needed!

Teacher Notes:

• Answer key included!
• Includes BOTH a printable PDF version and a digital Google Slides version.
• Please note: This “What Is Data science reading” is not editable.
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