This is a level 4 measurement activity from the Figure it Out series.
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interpret timetables
This activity introduces students to a common timetable layout. By working through the exercise, they will confront the variations needed in laying out a transport timetable so that it solves timetabling problems, such as changes in demand levels over a typical day.
Before the students begin the activity, they could look at the first section, showing buses leaving Karori Park between 6.40 a.m. and 9.50 a.m., to make sure that they understand how to read the timetable.
Ask questions such as:
“What time does the bus that leaves Karori Park at 8.35 a.m. get to Wellington Hospital?”
“How long does the trip from Karori Park to the Kilbirnie shops take?”
“Is Courtenay Place closer to Karori Park than Lyall Bay? Use the timetable to help you decide.”
Ask the students to investigate the frequency of the buses and explain the variations
throughout the timetable. For example, the middle section of the timetable, with the 15 minute space between buses, is a different layout. Questions that may help include:
“What hours in the day apply to this section of the timetable?”
“Why are there only four times listed in this section for each stop?”
“What time does a bus that leaves Karori Park at 11.20 a.m. get to Wellington Hospital?”
“Why did the timetable designers choose to use this layout for the middle section of the day?”
The last section of the timetable reverts to the original format. Ask:
“What do the dashes at Lyall Bay for the last two trips of the day mean?”
When the students can confidently read the timetable, they can complete the chart. Ensure they allow 10 minutes after the end of the game for Geoffrey to get to the bus. After they have completed the table, they could investigate other timetables that they are likely to use, such as local bus or train timetables or the times of games in a sports tournament. As well as checking that they can read the timetables accurately, encourage them to think about the layout of the timetables. You could ask, “Why did the designer of the timetable use this particular layout?”
Answers to Activity
