12.2 PROJECT

PIVOTING AN INVENTORY

One aspect of data wrangling is making sure the raw data is cleaned up and organized into a form that can be easily analyzed. This organized data should also be easy to work with to answer the questions being asked about the data. A pivot table is a tool that can quickly summarize a large data set. Pivot tables also have the ability to present several completely different views of the data.

Suppose the inventory manager of a garden center was asked to create a report on the current inventory of blueberry bushes. She wasn't provided a specific question to answer, so she created the following two pivot tables to spark conversation about the current inventory.

Two pivot tables
Age (in Years) Count of Blueberry Size
-Bluecrop 8
1 1
2 2
3 5
-Bluegold 16
1 3
2 6
3 7
-Hardyblue 8
1 4
2 4
-Jersey 5
1 2
2 1
3 2
-Legacy 12
1 8
2 3
3 1
-Patriot 18
1 5
2 6
3 7
Grand Total 67
Harvest Season and Sun Exposure Count of Age (in Years)
-Early 18
-Full Sun 18
Patriot 18
-Late Season 17
-Full Sun 12
Legacy 12
-Full to Partial Sun 5
Jersey 5
-Midseason 32
-Full Sun 8
Bluecrop 8
-Full to Partial Sun 24
Bluegold 16
Hardyblue 8
Grand Total 67

  1. Describe the information presented in the pivot table on the left.

  2. Describe the information presented in the pivot table on the right.

  3. What information is displayed in both tables?

  4. How many different varieties of blueberry bushes does the garden center sell? What varieties do they have?

  5. Which blueberry bush varieties require full sun?

  6. Write a question that the pivot table on the left would answer.

  7. Write a question that the pivot table on the right would answer.

  8. Suppose the inventory manager is given the following question right before the meeting: "What is the age of each blueberry bush in stock and when is the harvest season for each?" Describe how she could create a pivot table to answer this question.