Name _________________________________ I.D.

Number _______________________

Project 1
Evaluation 31
Second Year Algebra 1 (MTHH 039 059)

Be sure to include ALL pages of this project (including the directions and the assignment) when you
send the project to your teacher for grading. Don’t forget to put your name and I.D. number at the top
of this page!
This project will count for 8% of your overall grade for this course and contains a possible 100 points
total. Be sure to read all the instructions and assemble all the necessary materials before you begin.
You will need to print this document and complete it on paper. Feel free to attach extra pages if you
need them.
When you have completed this project you may submit it electronically through the online course
management system by scanning the pages into either .pdf (Portable Document Format), or .doc
(Microsoft Word document) format. If you scan your project as images, embed them in a Word
document in .gif image format. Using .gif images that are smaller than 8 x 10 inches, or 600 x 800
pixels, will help ensure that the project is small enough to upload. Remember that a file that is larger
than 5,000 K will NOT go through the online system. Make sure your pages are legible before you
upload them. Check the instructions in the online course for more information.

Part A – Adding It All Up (possible 35 points)

Activity 1: Study the polygons below. You can cut each polygon into non-overlapping triangles by
connecting one vertex with each of the other nonadjacent vertices. In Geometry, this method is
called Triangulation.

1. a. For each polygon, fill in the table as you work through each part of the activity. (9 pts)
Name of Polygon

Quadrilateral

Heptagon
Pentagon

Nonagon
Hexagon

Octagon
Triangle

10-gon

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 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of Sides

1 2 3 4

Number of Triangles

180 360 1080

Sum of Interior Angles

b. Describe the relationship between the number of sides in a polygon and the number of
triangles. (2 pts)

c. Describe the relationship between the number of triangles and the sum of the angle measures
of the polygon. (2 pts)

d. Complete the sentence: The sum of the angle measures of a polygon is the number of sides of
the polygon less ___?___, times ___?___. (2 pts)

e. The number of sides of a polygon is n. Write the number of triangles in terms of n. (2 pts)

f. Write the sum of the angle measures of the n-sided polygon in terms of n. (2 pts)

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Activity 2: The diagrams show arrangements of tables and chairs. Each small table can seat 6
people. When you join tables, you lose space for some chairs. So, an arrangement of two tables has
10 chairs rather than 12 chairs.

# of tables: 1 2 3 4

2. a. Make a table that lists the number of tables and the number of chairs in each arrangement
shown in the above diagram. (8 pts)

b. Find the number of chairs needed for arrangements of 5 tables and 6 tables. (2 pts)

c. Write an expression for the number of chairs needed for n tables. (Hint: How many new chairs
are needed for each new table?) (3 pts)

3. You can arrange the tables and chairs differently. One possible pattern is shown below. Write an
expression for the number of chairs needed to make on large table out of k tables in this way. (3
pts)

Part B – Guided Problem Solving (possible 20 points)

Geometry The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of the third
side. In ABC, BC = 4 and AC = 8 – AB. What can you conclude about AB? ABC has three sides,
so you can use the Triangle Inequality Theorem and write 3 conditions of the sides.

AC + BC > AB 1st Triangle Inequality condition

AB + BC > AC 2nd Triangle Inequality condition

AB + AC > BC 3rd Triangle Inequality condition

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 BC = 4 and AC = 8 – AB Given

(8 – AB) + 4 > AB Substitute 4 for BC and 8 – AB for AC in the 1st condition.

12 > 2AB Solve and simplify.

AB < 6

AB + 4 > 8 – AB Substitute 4 for BC and 8 – AB for AC in the 2nd condition.

2AB > 4 Solve and simplify.

AB > 2

AB + (8 – AB) > 4 Substitute 4 for BC and 8 – AB for AC in the 3rd condition.

8>4 Simplify. True Statement.

2 < AB < 6 Conclusion about AB.

Activity: The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of the third
side. What can you conclude about AC in ABC? (Hint: Use the above example as a guideline.)

1. AB = 6; BC + 2AC = 18 (5 pts)

2. BC = 7; AC = 2 + AB (5 pts)

3. AB + AC = 5; AC + BC = 4 (5 pts)

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4. BC + AC = 22; AB + BC = 12 (5 pts)

Part C – Piecewise Functions (possible 25 points)

A piecewise function is a function which is defined by multiple sub functions where different rules are
applied to each of the sub function’s domain. Think of piecewise functions as a function in pieces
and each piece behaves differently based on the input (x) value. Let’s take a look at an example.

EXAMPLE 1: Write a piecewise function to represent the graph

shown.

Solution: Look at the points where the graph moves or

changes position. This graph has three distinct
parts. The function needs a distinct rule for each
of the three corresponding sections of the domain.

Since (−2, 3) and (2, −5) both lie on two sections

of the graph, arbitrarily assign each point to just
one section.
When x ≤ −2, the rule is f(x) = x + 5. When −2 < x
≤ 2, the rule is f(x) −2x – 1. When x > 2, the rule is
f(x) = 2x – 9.

x + 5, if x ≤ −2

The piecewise function has three parts. f(x) = −2x – 1, if −2 < x ≤ 2

Project 1 MTHH 039

 2x – 9, if x > 2.

Some piecewise function are step functions because these functions have an infinite number of
pieces. Their graphs look like the steps of a staircase. One of the most well-known step functions is
the greatest integer function or also known as the floor function. The greatest integer function rounds
down a real number to the nearest integer. For example: [ 2 ] = [ 2 ]; [ 5.4 ] = [ 5 ]; [ −3.2 ] = [ −4 ].
The greatest integer function can be expressed as f(x) = [ x ] by using a square bracket, double
brackets [[ x ]], or even a square bracket with the top removed ⌊ x ⌋. For the purpose of this project
you will use the square bracket notation, f(x) = [ x ].
For additional information on step functions, please visit
http://mathbitsnotebook.com/Algebra1/FunctionGraphs/FNGTypePiecewise.html and
http://www.mathsisfun.com/sets/function-floor-ceiling.html.

EXAMPLE 2: Graph the function f(x) = [ x ].

Solution:

Step 1 Choose an interval bounded by two consecutive integers. Make a table of

values for the interval 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.

Each section of the graph ends at the y-

value at which it starts. The left endpoint
of each “step” is a closed circle. The right
endpoint is an open circle.

Step 2 Graph the function.

Used closed circles for included

endpoints; use open circles for
excluded endpoints.

Activity: Graph each piecewise function.

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 1. y = [ x ] + 2 (3 pts)

2. f(x) = 3[ x ] (4 pts)

3.

(4 pts)

4.

(4 pts)

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 5.

(6 pts)

6. Write a piecewise function to represent the

graph shown. (5 pts)

Part D – Finding a Line of Best Fit (possible 20 points)

You can use your graphing calculator to display data sets, draw scatter plots, and draw a line to fit
the data. The line is called a linear regression line or line of best fit. The LinReg feature on your
calculator fits the model y = ax + b to the data.

EXAMPLE 1: When a honeybee finds a source of food, it returns to the beehive and communicates to
other bees the direction and distance of the source. The makes a loop, waggles its belly
along a line, makes another loop, and then another waggle. The bee repeats its dance
several times. The time for each cycle (one loop and waggle) reveals the approximate
distance to the food source.

Enter the given data on your calculator. Show a scatter plot of the data. Find the LinReg
line of best fit. Then show a graph of the line.

Solution:

Project 1 MTHH 039

 Step 1 Clear any existing lists, and clear any equations from Y=. You may have to adjust
your viewing WINDOW.

Step 2 Enter the data. Press STAT ENTER. Enter

the x-values in L1 and the y-values in L2.

Step 3 Find the

LinReg line of best
fit. Press STAT,
arrow over to
CALC, press 4;
LinReg (ax + b) L1,
L2, Y1

Step 4 Draw the graph. Press 2nd and the Y= key (to
turn on STAT PLOT). Press GRAPH.

EXAMPLE 2: A bee finds food 3 km from the hive. Use the information you found in Example 1 line of
best fit and the CALC feature to predict the time of a waggle dance cycle.

With the graph shown your calculator, select 2nd

CALC feature. Press 1, then 3 ENTER to see the y-
value for x = 3. A waggle dance cycle should take
about 5.2 seconds.

EXAMPLE 3: A waggle dance cycle is 7.4 seconds. Use the line of best fit from Example 1 and the
TRACE feature to estimate the distance to the food source.

With the graph shown on your calculator, press

TRACE (under CALC). Then use the arrow keys to
get the y-value as close to 7.4 as possible. You may
have to adjust your window dimension Xmax to allow
for a large enough trace. The food source is
approximately 5.6 km from the beehive.

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Activity: In MODE, (second line), fix the number of decimal places to be 2. Then the slope and the
y-intercept values of the LinReg line will round to the nearest hundredth.

1. Find the LinReg line of best fit for this data set. (3 pts)
{(−5, 6.3), (−4, 5.6), (−3, 4.8), (−2, 3.1), (−1, 2.5), (0, 1.0), (1, −1.4)}

2. Health Find the LinReg line of best fit for the National Health Expenditures data. Then predict
national health expenditures for 2010. (Hint: You may have to expand the calculator window to
include the year 2010 on your screen.) (3 pts)

Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

National Health Expenditures
(billions of dollars) 1093 1150 1223 1309 1421 1553

3. Congress Find the LinReg line of best fit for the data below. Then estimate the number of U.S.
Representatives for Texas. Texas’s population for 2000 was 20.0 million. (3 pts)

State AZ CO CT GA IL MO OH RI UT WA WI

Population (millions) 5.6 4.6 3.5 8.7 13 5.7 11 1.1 2.4 6.1 5.5
Representatives 8 7 5 13 19 9 18 2 3 9 8

4. There are different ways to find a line of best fit. The line of best fit found by the least squares
method passes through the point ( x , y ) where x x is the mean of the x-values of the data points
(x, y) and y is the mean of the y-values.

a. In MODE, change the number of fixed decimal places to 3. Use the data in the table below.
Enter the number of teachers in L1. Enter the average salaries in L2. Find the LinReg line of
best fit. (3 pts)

Year 1999 2000 2001 2002

Techers (millions) 2.81 2.89 2.94 2.98

Average Salary
(thousands of dollars) 40.5 41.8 43.4 44.6

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 b. Calculate x and y , the means for each data set. (To find x , for example, press 2nd STAT,
arrow over to MATH, then press 3 and enter L1. (4 pts)

c. Graph the LinReg line of best fit. Select the CALC feature. Press 1, enter the value of x , and
then press ENTER. Compare the y-value shown to y . What can you conclude? (2 pts)

d. Critical Thinking Does ( x , y ) lie on the LinReg line of best fit? From this result can you
conclude that the LinReg line of best fit and the least squares line of best fit are the same? Are
different? Explain. (2 pts)

This project can be submitted electronically. Check the Project page in the UNHS online
course management system or your enrollment information with your print materials for more
detailed instructions.

Project 1 MTHH 039