2.1+Comparing+Leisure+Activities+0910

M. B. Block D  4/11/09 **Comparing and Scaling** **The Big Idea:** Many important practical and mathematical applications involve comparing quantities of one kind or another; it is important to know which method to use and how we should use them. **Investigation 2:** Comparing by Finding Percents **Essential Question:** What methods are there for comparing things? **2.1** I think that this is because one person can vote more than once but that does not change the total number of people. 1 In the biking activity the percent of males who bike was about 21.9% that beat the female age group in that activity because they only had 19.7% of the people who bike. 2 In the swimming activity the percent of females who swam was about 28.3% that beat the male age group in that activity because they only had 24.7% of the people swim. 3 In the fishing activity the percent of males who fish was about 27.2%that beat the female age group in that activity because they only had 12.5% of the people who fish. The way I found out the percents was that I divided the number of people doing the activity by the total number of people. 1 In the walking activity the percent of ages 55-64 who walk was 37.1% that outnumbers the ages 12-17 because they only have 13.2% of people who walk. 2 In the swimming activity the percent of ages 12-17 who swim was 51% that highly outnumbered the ages 55-64 because they only have 13.1% of people who swim. 3 In the biking activity the percent of ages 12-17 who bike was 41.2% that is higher than the ages 55-64 because they only have 9.7% of people who bike. 1 In the fishing activity the males who fish was 30,449,000 and the female and ages 12-17 and ages 55-64 together add up to 22,986,000 which is less than the males alone! 2 The total number of females (118,555,000) equals the total number of ages 12-17 (21,304,000) times 5.56491739. 3 In the walking activity the total number of females was 43,373,000 and the total number of people in ages 12-17 was 2,816,000. The big difference is 40,557,000. **Follow up** Percents are better when you compare ratios. When you don’t want to compare ratios you can use other methods of comparing numbers not using percents. No because from the table I can’t tell how many teenagers are boys and how many are girls. Also in the males and females I don’t know their age.
 * In the table above, look for interesting patters in the data for males and females and in the data for the two age groups.**
 * A Why don’t the numbers in the columns add up to the given totals?**
 * B Write three statements that use percents to make comparisons about the numbers of male and female participants in various activities. Explain how you found the percents.**
 * C Write three statements that use percents to make comparisons about number of teenage and older-adult participants in the various activities.**
 * D Write three statements that make comparisons about the data without using percents.**
 * 1 Explain how you might decide when percents would be a good way to make a comparison and when other forms of comparison would be better. Use examples if they help explain your ideas.**
 * 2 Can you compare the participation of teenage boys in these activities to the participation of older-adult women by using the data in the table? Explain.**