Year 9 Science · AC9S9I05

Analyse patterns, trends, relationships and anomalies

Move from “the graph goes up” to evidence-based analysis: quantify patterns, compare sources, investigate anomalies and distinguish association from causation

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Key conceptTeach from the board

A strong trend statement names both variables, direction and evidence: “As temperature increased from 20°C to 50°C, mean reaction time decreased from …”. Relationships can be positive, negative, non-linear or absent. A relationship alone does not prove that changing one variable caused the other.

An anomaly is a result that does not fit the broader pattern. It may be a measurement problem, natural variation or important new evidence. Check records and repeat where appropriate before deciding how to treat it. Connecting independent data sources can strengthen or complicate a conclusion.

Worked examplesWe do

Worked examples

AC9S9I05 - Analyse patterns, trends, relationships and anomalies
Example 1

Upgrade “the graph rises” into a quantified trend statement.

Example 2

Identify an anomaly in a small dataset.

Example 3

List two possible explanations for the anomaly.

Example 4

Rewrite a causal claim as an association claim where the design is observational.

Curriculum examplesCopied content

Australian Curriculum v9.0 — AC9S9I05: analyse/connect data to identify patterns, trends, relationships and anomalies.

Victoria Levels 9–10 — VC2S10I05:Exact.

NSW Stage 5 — SC5-WS-06:Exact analyses data to identify trends, patterns and relationships and draw conclusions.

LessonAC v9VictoriaNSW
Pattern/trend analysisDirectDirectDirect WS-06
Anomaly/cause reasoningDirectDirectStage 5 application
Questions and answersWith answers
  1. What makes a trend statement strong? Variables, direction, range and quantitative evidence.
  2. What is an anomaly? A result inconsistent with the broader pattern that warrants investigation.
  3. Does a relationship prove causation? No; design and competing variables matter.
  4. Why connect datasets? Independent evidence can reveal consistency, context dependence or conflict.
Practice and reviewReady for practice
  • Correlation proves causation. Competing explanations may produce the pattern.
  • Anomalies should always be removed. Investigate them first.
  • A trend description needs no numbers. Quantification makes analysis testable and precise.
  • No obvious trend means useless data. Absence of a relationship can be scientifically informative.
Curriculum alignmentStart here
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