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Fly or Drive Lab

This document describes a lab where students collect data on flight and driving costs between Detroit and eight other cities. They create a scatter plot with the distance as the independent variable and costs as dependent variables. Trend lines are fitted to each data set. The trend lines intersect at a point that represents the break-even distance - the distance where flying and driving costs are equal. Students calculate the equations of the trend lines, find the intersection point, and check that it satisfies both equations. This lab teaches how to compare costs using linear models and find the point where two linear relationships are equal.

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97 views6 pages

Fly or Drive Lab

This document describes a lab where students collect data on flight and driving costs between Detroit and eight other cities. They create a scatter plot with the distance as the independent variable and costs as dependent variables. Trend lines are fitted to each data set. The trend lines intersect at a point that represents the break-even distance - the distance where flying and driving costs are equal. Students calculate the equations of the trend lines, find the intersection point, and check that it satisfies both equations. This lab teaches how to compare costs using linear models and find the point where two linear relationships are equal.

Uploaded by

api-316575588
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Fly or Drive Exploration

____________________
Linear Systems - Algebra I

Name

Overview: In this lab, your will try to answer the question: At what point is it cheaper
to fly instead of drive? To do this, you will select eight major cities across the
country and research data on traveling to those locations. You will then
compare the costs to determine what the break-even distance is.
Intro
Consider the pictures to the right.
There is a red circle in each picture that
represents the area in which it is cheaper
to drive from Detroit than it is to fly
from Detroit.
Which circle (first, second, or third) do you
believe best represents the area that it
is cheaper to drive than it is to fly? Fully
explain why you feel this. If you think none of
are a good representation of when it is
drive than it is to fly, explain why.
What questions might you want to ask
before trying to determine whether
flying or driving is the cheaper option?

the choices
cheaper to

Data Collection
1. Head to the Expedia.com
2. Choose eight destinations and search for one-way flights.
3. Enter the flight info into the chart.
4. Go to GasBuddy and find the driving cost from Detroit to your destinations:
http://www.gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx
5. Calculate additional driving costs as follows: +$10 for every 5 hours (meals), +$75 for every 18 hours (hotel room)
City

Distance

Flight
Duratio
n

Flight Cost

Gas Buddy
Cost

Driving
Time

Additional
Driving
Costs

Total Driving
Cost

Lincoln, Nebraska

785 miles

1h46m

$126

$99.57

10h48m

$20

$119.57

Data Analysis
You will be analyzing your data by creating a scatter-plot of the data. Remember, we
want to compare the cost of flying and the cost of driving with respect to the distance of
the trip. You will be creating two scatterplots that will be plotted on the same graph.
The independent variable is the distance from Detroit. The dependent variables are the
cost of the flight and the cost of driving.
1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Copy the following three columns into Excel:
Distance, Flight Cost, Driving Cost. See picture to
the right.
3. Highlight all three columns and select Insert then
Scatterplot.

A scatter-plot will be created with both the flight cost as one set of data and the
driving cost as another set of data, similar to what is seen below.

4. Next, you will create trend lines (aka lines of best fit) for each set of data. Select the
Flight Cost scatter-plot by clicking on one of the flight cost data points. Left-click on
the data point and select Add Trendline.

5. Make sure Linear is the type of trend selected.


Also, make sure that Display Equation on chart is
also selected.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the Driving Cost set of data.

At the completion of step 5, you should have a graph


that looks similar to the graph below:

6. Print off your graph to turn in with your final lab report.
Reflections
Answer the questions below, completely. Write in complete sentences where appropriate.

1. What is the equation of the trend line for flight cost?


______________________________________

2. What is the equation of the trend line for driving cost?


____________________________________
Note that both trend lines utilize the same independent (distance from Detroit) and
dependent (travel cost) variables.
3. What is the slope of the driving cost trend line? __________________
4. What does this slope represent?

5. What is the slope of the driving cost trend line? __________________


6. What does this slope represent?

7. Do your lines intersect? If so, what do you think the real-world implication of these
lines intersection is?

8. Approximately, what is the (x, y) point where the two trend lines intersect?
________________________
9. Describe this point in real-world terms (i.e. at a certain distance, the cost is)

10. Still thinking of the point of intersection you indicated in problem 8; notice that the
point is on each line. That means the (x, y) ordered-pair should be a solution to each
equation. Lets check that. Below, substitute your (x, y) ordered-pair into the
equation of the trend line for flight cost. Show work. Does the point satisfy the
equation? If not, is it close?

11.

Repeat question 10 for the trend line for the driving cost.

12. Enter both equations into your calculator and change the window dimensions so
that they match the domain and range of your graph on Excel.

13. Use the Intersect function on your calculator by selecting Calc then Intersect
to find the point of intersection of the two lines.
Point = ______________
14. Briefly summarize this lab. What did you learn? What does the point of intersection
represent? How can we find it and check it? Why is it an important concept to study?

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