| Some questions | Some answers | The database |
|
An attempt to
maintain an up to date summary of uses of email in mathematics
education.
|
||
The Cost of Living Project - some questions
| Here is a selection of questions that could be tackled using the Cost of Living database. |
|
| Validation | Does any of the data look wrong? Are there any errors? |
| Averages | Which average is the best to use - mean,
median or mode? What is the average price of a Mars bar in the UK? What is the average price in Australia? How much do the other items cost in the UK? Is there enough data to decide on averages in any other country? Do prices vary in different parts of the UK? Do prices change with time? How does the cost of a Coke compare with the cost of a Pepsi? Are there any exceptions? Can you tell which country has the most expensive cinema tickets? |
| Variation | Which measure of variation is the best to
use - range, inter-quartile range, standard deviation? How do prices vary in one particular country? In which country do prices vary the most? |
| Display | Find out conversion rates and produce a
table showing average prices in one currency only. Produce a diagram to compare prices in two countries, for example the UK and Australia |
The Cost of Living Project - some answers
| Here are some suggested outcomes using the Cost of Living database. |
|
| Display - bar graphs |  A 3D bar graph
produced by Excel from the data on Mars bar prices in the UK. The data had
first to be converted into a frequency table using the frequency array
function. |
 A bar
graph comparing Mars and Snickers prices in the UK. The data had first to be
converted into a frequency table using the frequency array
function. |
|
| Display - scatter graphs |  A scatter graph showing
prices for Mars bars compared to cinema tickets around the world. |
© MathsNet 1999