HSED422/MSED456: Lottery Numbers, Part 2
Name:
Names of people you worked with:
Objectives:
- Use a web site to gather data.
- Look for patterns in collected data.
- Make predictions from and interpret patterns observed in data.
- Examine assumptions made about data.
In this worksheet we research how lottery funds are distributed to
Massachusetts towns and compare the result with the number of agents
registered to sell tickets in each town.
Work in groups of two to answer the questions below. Each
group member should contribute equally to the analysis.
-
Choose a town from the list on the page http://www.masslottery.com/wherethemoneygoes.html
and write that town's name in the table below.
| Town |
|
|
|
| No. of Agents |
|
|
|
| Funds Received |
|
|
|
- How much local aid did that town receive from the lottery in
2005? Enter the amount in the table.
- Use the list of lottery agents at http://www.masslottery.com/AgentList/index.htm
to estimate how many agents sell lottery tickets in that town. Enter
your result in the table.
- Have your partner choose another town. Look up the
local aid received and the number of agents in that town and enter the
data in the table.
- Use the grid below to plot your results, showing the number of
agents along the x-axis and the amount of local aid along the y-axis.
- Add your classmates' results to your graph. (If you finish
early, you may choose a third town and collect data for it.)
- Describe any patterns you see in the points you have graphed.
- Why do you think this pattern appears?
If each agent sells about the same number of lottery tickets, this is
(approximately) a graph of the amount of local funds received by a
town as a function of the amount of money spent on lottery tickets by
its residents.
- Do you think it's true that every agent sells about the same
number of lottery tickets?
- Do you think we can use this graph to see whether the
distribution of local aid money is fair?
- If you answered "no" above, explain your answer. If you answered
"yes" above, do you think the distribution of local aid money is fair?
Why or why not?