Look at some of the different databases: dinosaurs, Titanic passengers, countries or minibeasts.
Look at the different tabs:
Define – how it is set up – each category of information is called a field
Form – is like a record car or top trump that contains all of the information for one record – this is how you add a new tiem in the database. You can order and search the records.
Table – you guessed it – lists the information in a table – good if you want to see it all at a glance. You can sort the data by clicking on column headings.
Chart – allows you to draw graphs comparing the data of all the items. Only useful if records have numerical (number) data. You can alse use the search to restrict results to items containing that search word.
Options
What can you find out from searching, ordering or drawing graphs of the data? Have a go at answering these questions: enter your answers in theis Google form
Countries
Which is the smallest country? (Form tab, Sort by area)
Which has the second lowest population (Form tab, sort by population)
What is the 10th country in alphabetical order (Table tab, sort by name row by clicking on Country Name)
Do big countries have big populations (Chart tab, options below with scatter chart)
Ask and answer your own question
Dinosaurs
What is the longest dinorsaur?
Which are the first dinosaurs?
What proportion were carnivores? (pie chart)
Ask and answer your own question.
Minibeasts
How many have more than 6 legs?
Ask and answer your own question.
Titanic passengers
How many people survived?
Who was the youngest survivor? (I’ve met her!)
Roughly what fraction of men survived? What fraction of women survived? (chart – see options below)
Ask and snawer two questions of your own.
Activity 2 – Plan your database
Think of a topic that you could make a database about:
Good examples are
animals from a particular habitat or family, eg birds of prey, whales, Amazon animals