Directions

This problem is to be completed in your group. Your group should hand in one copy of the assignment, for which each group member will receive the same grade. There will be about six projects during the semester. Each group member must be responsible for writing up the final report for at least one of the assignments.

The project report should have three sections. Naturally, if a section is missing, it will receive zero points. That means a correct solution alone, without the other parts, is worth at most four out of ten points!

Part 1. (3 points)

Give a general description of the problem, including what is problematic about the exercise. This should not just be a restatement of the problem. Instead, you need to show that you understand the main idea of what you are trying to do. You don't need to give all the details, just the big picture, in your own words. You do not say anything here about how you solved or attempted to solve the problem-that comes in the next part. This should take a paragraph (more than a sentence, less than a page).

Part 2. (3 points)

Describe how your group tackled the problem. In this part you describe what you tried, including both things that worked and false starts that were not productive. This is a description of your strategies, not a blow-by-blow listing of every thought that occurred to you. You should not actually give your solution here, not should any of the work supporting your solution appear in this part. Again, this will take more than a sentence or two, but a page is probably more than enough.

Part 3. (4 points)

Your solution should be accurate, carefully written, and concise (to the point). In each part you need to write your responses using sentences. This is something you may not have done in the past when writing a solution to a mathematical problem, so be sure to do so now!

You may work on these projects only with members of your group. Obviously, not everyone can come up with the solution, but everyone is expected to contribute by working hard and discussing their thoughts. You must include this statement at the end of your report:

We have neither requested nor received any help from individuals outside our group on this problem. Each of us has contributed to the work on this problem, and we will not allow anyone to sign this paper who has not contributed in some way.

All members must attest the truth of the statement by signing the paper that they turn in. You should discuss any problems about your group work with your instructor.

Project 2

Spreadsheet project

Malthus : Population Outstrips Food Supply

Refer to pages 460 and 461

1: Set up the appropriate spread sheet on a computer. The software manual may be of aid in doing the formulas. A printout of the table and of any graphs produced is expected with this project.

2: Use the information to answer questions 2 and 3 on page 461

3. Using the original data, create a bar chart or line graph showing population and food with years on the horizontal axis. Make sure that all years up to 2100 are displayed. Any change of relationship between food supply and population should be clearly evident.

Form a conclusion about the information.