2.4 Rock It with Data Science

Hacking STEM is excited to partner with Blue Origin’s nonprofit, Club for the Future, to highlight how a data science process is used to help determine a Go/No-Go for launch of a Blue Origin New Shepard Rocket.

Data science has risen to a high level of importance. Now, more than ever, data is utilized to gain a better understanding of the world around us. Advancements in technology allow us to collect larger amounts of data more efficiently and use it in new ways, increasing the need for students to better understand how data science can be applied.

Prepare students to build the future by immersing them in fun and interactive activities as they learn about Excel and the data science process.

The interactive Microsoft Excel workbook guides students through how data scientists engage in a method called the data science process. Use these activities in Excel to explore the process data scientists use to ask good questions, organize, and visualize data and then use the data to make important decisions.

Excel is a tool used around the world to work with data. In these activities, students learn how to use Excel and complete all steps of a mission by engaging in the data science process.

In this mission, students analyze key weather data in determining flight safety parameters for a New Shepard rocket and ultimately make a Go/No-Go decision for launch. Students learn how to use Excel while engaging in this dynamic Data Science Process activity.

During the experience, students first formulate and ask questions related to factors that influence the stability of a rocket as it travels through the atmosphere. Then, using an atmospheric data set, students organize the data using Excel tools to gain meaningful insights. Next, students learn how to create charts and graphs using an AI enhanced feature in Excel.

In the final step, students interpret the visualized data to make a Go/No-Go determination for a rocket launch. The teams report their findings in a brief report to flight control.

With successful completion of all mission steps, students earn a Space Data badge and after completing the experience they earn a certificate.

Open your Excel Workbook NOW.

Open it in DESKTOP mode.

Intro-to-the-Data-Science-Process Download

Then also use this lesson plan guide to work your way through it as needed..

ITDS_LessonPlans_Steps_1-4-202303-1 Download

There are four main steps that are about an hour a piece to plan for.

ChatGPT Quiz!

Time to go ask ChatGPT to give you a five question quiz. Say, “ChatGPT, give me five quiz questions on Microsoft Excel.” And it’ll respond with something like this…

Sure, here’s a five-question quiz on Microsoft Excel:

What is the keyboard shortcut for creating a new worksheet in Excel? a) Ctrl + N b) Ctrl + W c) Ctrl + Shift + N d) Ctrl + Shift + W
What is the maximum number of rows in a single worksheet in Excel 2019? a) 65,536 b) 1,048,576 c) 32,767 d) 16,384
What does the function SUMIF do in Excel? a) Adds up values in a range that meet a certain criteria b) Multiplies values in a range that meet a certain criteria c) Finds the average of values in a range that meet a certain criteria d) Counts the number of values in a range that meet a certain criteria
What is the keyboard shortcut for inserting a new column in Excel? a) Ctrl + C b) Ctrl + V c) Ctrl + Shift + C d) Ctrl + Shift + +
What is the purpose of conditional formatting in Excel? a) To highlight cells that meet certain criteria b) To add text or numbers to a cell c) To create charts and graphs from data d) To perform calculations on a range of cells.

STOP Can you answer them?

NEXT ask ChatGPT to “Give me the answers to these quiz questions.” And it’ll actually give you the answers to those questions! This will allow you to up your Microsoft Office game one day at a time! How cool is THIS?!?!

Sure! Here are the answers to the quiz questions on Microsoft Excel