ALGEBRA 2

HESSE

OCTOBER 2013

DATA!
Have you ever heard someone use the phrase, This is
growing exponentially! or Wow this set of data appears linear.
Your mission is to find a set of data that interests you, and
that you believe has some sort of linear correlation. In other
words, can you relate to the data and does the data relate to each
other? The data needs to be able to be modeled well using a
linear model.
Using the library and/or the internet, find a set of data that
relates to each other. In other words, the data has a comparison
from one value (the domain) to the other value (the range).
There are many resources in the library the internet, the
almanac, and even encyclopedias. You may even use outside
sources or perhaps create your own data. You must have at
least 5 data points in your data set.
Some suggestions for data:

Population growth of a city

Number of students per computer in school
Monthly military pay
Value of a particular item (collectible, car, computer)
Stock market decline
Wetlands
Sports statistics major trends (for example league stats,
characteristics of all defenses or offenses, injury statistics,
NOT stats of an individual player)
College stats tuition, attendance, degrees, grad school
ACT/SAT trends
Once you collect this data, use the regression analysis capabilities
of your calculator to find an equation that best fits this data.
Remember you can use the correlation coefficient for the data

ALGEBRA 2
HESSE

OCTOBER 2013

(the r squared value), and gauge how well the model fits the data.
The closer to 1 the better!
You must have your data approved by me at some point before
the project is due.
This project is due Friday, October 25th.

Data! Project Analysis

Your project should include, but is not limited to, the following
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Title your project, and include your name.

The data points organized in a table.
A graph of the data points with the regression line going through them.
The regression equation and the r squared value displayed
Remember to site your sources.
Write a paragraph (at least 5 sentences long) including the following:
a. An explanation of your data. Why did you choose it? What does it
tell us? Do you think this trend will continue?
b. An analysis of how well the line fits your data. Are there any
outliers? Give an explanation for outliers in the context of the
data.
c. Use your data to predict two future values. Do you think these
are reasonable?
d. Will this model be appropriate as your domain goes to infinity?
7) Your project should be a one page document in either Microsoft Word
or Microsoft Publisher.

This project is due Friday, October 25th.