Introduction

One day, Rohan visited his mathematics teacher at his home. At that time, his teacher was busy organizing and analyzing a large set of information collected from his neighborhood for a community survey.

Rohan: Good evening, sir. You seem very busy. Can I assist you with your work, sir?

Teacher: Rohan, I have gathered household data for the survey, including details such as the number of family members, their age distribution, income levels, types of houses they live in, and other relevant information.

Rohan: Sir, why is this information important?

Teacher: This data is useful for the local administration in planning various community programs and ensuring proper allocation of resources.

Rohan: How do authorities manage and interpret such a large amount of information?

Teacher: The data is compiled and analyzed using statistical tools, which help in deriving meaningful conclusions. These insights assist in decision-making and policy formulation. Rohan, you have learned about basic data handling in your previous classes, haven’t you?

Just like Rohan, we also encounter various situations in daily life where we come across numerical data, facts, and figures in the form of tables, charts, and graphs. These may include temperature records, election results, sports scores, and market trends. Such collected numerical facts with a specific purpose are called 'data', and the process of analyzing this data falls under the branch of mathematics known as statistics.