Excelsior College Mathematics First Years Population Questions

Module 5The Stoneytown School District covers 4 towns. There are 20 members on the school board and the
towns have the populations shown in the following table:
Town
A
B
C
D
Year 1 Population
16,030
31,150
43,925
20,895
Year 2 Population
In year 2…
•
•
525 people leave town B and move to Town A
2,730 people move from Town C to Town D
1) Copy the chart above and fill in the populations for Year 2.
2) The school district uses the Hamilton Method to apportion the board member to the 4 towns.
How many board members are assigned to each town in Year 1? (show and explain your work!)
3) In Year 2 the district re-evaluates based on changes in population. For year 2, how many board
members does each town have? (show and explain your work)
4) For each town, list the population change ( gain or loss of how many people) and the
representation change (gain, loss or same number of seats) and if you think members of that
town would be happy, sad or indifferent about the results and why:
(Example…”Town E” lost 1,000 people and lost 1 seat: probably indifferent since they lost
people and lost a seat, it makes sense)
a. Town A:
b. Town B:
c. Town C:
d. Town D:
5) Compare the overall results for the two years, referring to the changes you found in part 4
a. Were there any results that surprised you? Why or why not? (be specific as to why)
b. Which town had the biggest change? How Did that affect their representation?
c. Which town had the smallest change ? How Did that affect their representation?
d. Are there any towns who may be upset with the results in Year 2? Why or why not?
Remember to show and explain all your work. “Show and Tell” how you got your answers. Include
written descriptions of your steps, telling what you did and why.