Venn diagrams
🎯 In this topic you will
- Record, sort and present data using Venn diagrams.
- Describe and interpret data clearly.
- Discuss and evaluate the results obtained from data.
🧠 Key Words
- fewer
- more
- Venn diagram
Show Definitions
- fewer: A comparative term used to describe a smaller number of countable items.
- more: A comparative term used to describe a greater number or amount of items.
- Venn diagram: A diagram that uses overlapping circles to show relationships and shared properties between sets of data.
Organising Data with Venn Diagrams
A Venn diagram helps you to organise data. It can help you to compare different groups of things. We need to know about sorting into sets so that we can organise objects that fit together. When we sort, we look for things that are the same.

❓ EXERCISES
1. Work with your partner. Here is a group of shapes. Sort the shapes by writing the letters into the correct part of the Venn diagram.

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2. Sort the balloons by writing the letters into the correct part of the Venn diagram.

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3. Sort the shapes by writing the letters into the correct part of the Venn diagram. How many shapes are squares? How many shapes are stripy? How many stripy squares do you have? Draw a ring around the correct word to complete each sentence. There are more stripy shapes / square shapes. There are fewer stripy shapes / square shapes.

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4. Sort the animals by writing the letters into the correct part of the Venn diagram.

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5. Work with a partner. How can you find and record your favourite food? Talk to your partner about what you like to eat. Draw or write things you like in your circle. Draw or write things you don’t like outside your circle. Your partner should do the same in their book. Now compare your answers with your partner’s. What did you both like most? Were they the same or different? What did you both like the least? Were they the same or different?
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6. Draw a ring around each mistake in the Venn diagram.

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🧠 Think like a Mathematician
Task: Look at this group of bugs.

Sort the bugs into a Venn diagram in $2$ different ways.
Work on your own and talk about the different ways you found.
Do you think there are more than $2$ ways to sort the bugs? Find $2$ more different ways.
Use these labels.
Draw or write what you think. Don’t forget to label your diagram.
Follow-up Questions:
Show Answers
- 1: Example: sort bugs into groups such as “has wings” and “no wings”.
- 2: Example: sort bugs by “number of legs” or by “has a shell” and “no shell”.
- 3: Because bugs can be grouped by many different properties (such as legs, wings, colour, or body type), there are many possible ways to sort them.

