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Group Activity 1 |
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Group Activity 1 |
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All group activities must include a signed statement from each group member that they participated fully in the assignment.
Please do the following at the beginning of every computer activity.
a. Open a new Word document.
b. Click on the "File" on the top menu bar, then go to "Save As". Give your document a somewhat descriptive name (e.g. "Group Activity 1"). Also save the document to the desktop by setting the "Save in" textbox to "Desktop". (Saving to the desktop makes it easy to retrieve your work when you are finished.)
Learning Goals for this Activity
Activity
Open the file CarsAndTrucks_By_Year2004.xls containing the following data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
a. Make an X-Y scatter plot of the data. Include it in your Word document. For instructions on how to make an X-Y scatter plot of the data click here. Note that Excel will, in most cases, put a legend on your graph by default. When there is only one data series (as here), you don't need a legend, and it really should be removed.
b. Add a trendline to your chart in a. Include the equation for the trendline and the R-squared value. Paste this chart in your Word document. For instructions on how to make add a trendline including the equation and R-squared value, click here.
c. Predict how many cars and trucks there will be in the US in the year 2008 using your regression equation.
d. Double check your prediction in c
using by visually extending the trendline you made in part b. Here is how
you do this: Right click on the trendline and then choose "Format Trendline."
Then click on the Options tab. In the center you will find a box entitled
"Forecast." In the "Forward" box, enter 5 to predict the number of
passenger cars and trucks there will be in 2008. Reading the graph, you can
get an approximate prediction that should be very close the prediction you
got with your equation. Paste the graph with your extended trendline in
your Word document.
Visually extending the trendline is a good check on your algebraic
calculations, and it is highly recommended as a check. Occasionally, the
rough, approximate prediction one can make from the extended trendline on
the graph is sufficient to the task at hand; however, most often, we use the
predictions obtained algebraically from the equations.
e. How accurate is the model in this prediction? In 2-3 sentences justify whether or not the equation should be used to predict how many passenger cars and trucks there will be in 2008.
f. Use the regression equation to
predict when there were no passenger cars and trucks in the US. Type your
result in your Word document. Double check your answer by extending the
trendline and pasting the resulting graph in your Word document.
g. About when were cars actually invented? (If you don't know, do an
Internet search.) In light in the facts about when cars were really
invented, how accurate was your model in predicting when there were no
cars? Explain why the model performed so badly even though it fits the
existing data rather well.
h. Predict the number of cars in US in 2050. How much confidence do you have in your prediction? Explain why.
2. Open the file Coal_Consumption2004.xls containing data from the U.S. Energy Administration. The unit of measure here is quads, a standard measure standing for quadrillion BTU's. (A British Thermal Unit is a unit of energy, the amount of energy needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit when the water is about 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit.)
a. Make an X-Y scatterplot of the data. Add a trendline, including the equation of the line and the R-squared value. Paste this chart into your Word document.
b. Predict coal consumption in the year 2008 using the regression equation and double check your prediction by extending the trendline on the graph. Type you answer and paste your graph in you Word document.
c. Using the equation of the model, predict when coal consumption reach 30 quads?
d. In a short well-written paragraph, discuss social, political, or physical changes which might affect the accuracy of predictions using this model.
When you are finished with an activity, save your work first to the desktop. Print the Word document, have each group member sign the document, and turn it in. When finished, make sure at least one member of the group saves the completed activity.
To save the document to a disk or flash drive, follow these steps. 1. Save the completed activity to the desktop. 2. Insert the disk or drive. 3. Close all windows. 4. Double click on "My computer" on the desktop. 5. Double click on drive A or E (sometimes D). This should open a window that displays any saved folders on your disk. If this window is maximized (meaning you can't see any of the desktop), click the icon in the middle at the top right corner of the screen to "restore down". 6. Click and drag the icon for your saved Activity 1 from the desktop to the window for your disk. Release. In a moment it will save your activity to the disk. 7. When the work has been saved successfully saved, delete it from the desktop either by right clicking on the icon then clicking on delete or by clicking and dragging the icon into the recycle bin.
While this is not the only way to save to a disk, I have found that is it the most efficient, effective, and safest way.
Another option for saving work is to send it to yourself in an email message as an attachment. To do this, follow these steps. 1. Save the completed activity to the desktop. 2. Close all windows except for Internet Explorer. 3. Access your email account. 4. Open a new message and put "Activity 1" in the subject line. 5. Click on "add attachment" and search on the desktop. Choose your saved "Activity 1". 6. Send the message to yourself and/or other group members. You should now be able to retrieve the activity via that message. The process for attaching files varies among internet providers, so if you have questions, just ask.
