2. Data

What do the numbers  123424331911 ,   140593 or perhaps the letters 'aaabbbccd' mean to you?

Probably nothing - this is because they have no specific meaning or application. They are examples of DATA.

Data consist of raw facts and figures - it does not have any meaning until it is processed and turned into something useful.

Data comes in many forms, the main ones being letters, numbers, images, symbols and sound.

However, it is essential that DATA is available because it is the first step in creating meaningful INFORMATION.

For example the three data items above could represent some very important information:

 

DATA
INFORMATION
123424331911 Your winning lottery ticket number
140593 Your date of birth
aaabbbccd The grades you want in your GCSEs

 

Challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Data