Asking the right question

In your book, Maths Mela (Chapter 14, Data Handling), Rohan and Anjali want to find out which subject their class likes the most. First they must make a good question to ask the class.

Rohan asks: 'Which subjects do you like?' One child answers 'Mathematics, Languages, Arts'. Another says 'Physical Education, Mathematics, The World Around Us'. Each child names several subjects, so we cannot tell which ONE subject each child likes best.

Anjali asks: 'Which subject do you like the most?' Now each child gives just one answer, such as 'Arts' or 'Mathematics'. There are 45 children in their grade, so they get 45 answers, one from each child. These can be counted to find the subject liked the most.

So the words of a question matter. To find the MOST liked thing, ask a question that gets ONE answer from each person.