Blue Spark Jen & AJ Award for Graphical Analysis

Blue Spark Jen & AJ Award for Graphical Analysis

Purpose

To recognize individuals for insightful applications of (graphical) mathematical analysis.

Criteria

1. Use data accessed from the Internet.

2. Generate a chart in Excel, Google Docs, or a similar spreadsheet.

3. Make a pattern or relationship in your data obvious.

4. Add a paragraph explaining your data pattern, and why you find it interesting.

Detail

1. Visit a website that lets you access large volumes of data. For example,

a. The California Department of Education (CDE): http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/ Follow one of the links under the heading “API Reports”.

b. Another CDE set of data, the CST results, at http://star.cde.ca.gov/

c. Yahoo Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com/ Enter in a stock ticker symbol like AAPL or WMT, then click on historical prices.

d. The NFL draft page http://www.nfl.com/combine Gather data under “Featured Participants”.

e. The California Weather Database http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/WEATHER/wxretrieve.html

It is up to you to figure out which data to present. It is also up to you to decide if you want to compare sets of data, and how you are going to arrange this data in a chart.

2. There are several ways to make a chart: data plots, pie charts, bar graphs, etc. Excel and other programs give you these options. Choose the most appropriate chart for your data.

3. The goal of this award is that you show that you have the ability to make a pattern or relationship in your data obvious. Maybe there is no pattern, and you’ll have to find a new set of data!

4. Your paragraph should explain the data pattern your chart demonstrates. Though your chart is probably clear as it is, you want to explain what’s happening in your graph, so that others who are not used to graphs can see the same thing. Include why you think your result is interesting. There is no limit on the paragraph. It can be short or long, as long as it meets these two criteria.

Format

· At the top of the page, include your project title, your name, phone number, and email address.

· Electronically cut and paste your chart into your document.

· Insert your paragraph at the bottom of the page.

· Attach one page of your data printed out from the spreadsheet program you used.