From Meier et al.From Horwitz and FerlegerProblems for DiscussionMIT OpenCourseWarehttp://ocw.mit.edu 11.220 Quantitative Reasoning & Statistical Methods for Planners I Spring 2009 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit: http://ocw.mit.edu/terms.Quantitative Reasoning and Statistical Methods (11.220) Problem Set #1 Ezra Haber Glenn, aicp Due: In section 2/12/09 or 2/12/2009 1 From Meier et al. • Chapter 2: 2.1 , 2.2, 2.3 • Chapter 5: 5.13, 5.14, 5.15 2 From Horwitz and Ferleger • Chapter 2: p. 47, B.1.b-e 3 Problems for Discussion For these problems, you do not need to write up formal responses, but please come prepared to discuss them in class/section. 1. Review this short article from the The New York Times : “Housing Affordability at Record High”, Catherine Rampell; January 30, 2009.1 What questions does it raise? What implications does it suggest? What additional information does it assume? 2. Imagine you were contacted by the City of Boston to assist with a study on the cost savings of replacing old fashioned (incandescent) light bulbs with newer “compact fluorescent” ones in all City-owned properties. In order to determine the cost savings due to reduced energy bills and longer bulb life, the City first needs a good estimate of the total number of bulbs they currently have. How would you recommend they arrive at this figure? 3. Table R0501 of the 2007 American Community Survey provides estimates of the per-centage of each state (and the District of Columbia) that is foreign born (see next page). The median of these figures is 6.10%; the mean is 8.45%. In your opinion, which state is most representative of the country in terms of its percentage of foreign born population? Why? What sort of graphic would you use to help understand these numbers and their distribution? 1http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/housing-affordability-at-record-high/?scp=2\ &sq=median\&st=cse 1State Percentage California 27.40 New York 21.80 New Jersey 19.90 Nevada 19.40 Florida 18.90 Hawaii 17.30 Texas 16.00 Arizona 15.60 Massachusetts 14.20 Illinois 13.80 Connecticut 12.80 Rhode Island 12.70 District of Columbia 12.60 Maryland 12.40 Washington 12.30 Virginia 10.30 Colorado 10.00 Oregon 9.80 New Mexico 9.30 Georgia 9.10 Utah 8.20 Delaware 7.60 Alaska 7.20 North Carolina 7.00 Minnesota 6.60 Michigan 6.10 Kansas 6.00 Idaho 5.60 Nebraska 5.60 Pennsylvania 5.40 New Hampshire 5.10 Oklahoma 5.00 Wisconsin 4.50 South Carolina 4.30 Arkansas 4.20 Indiana 4.20 Tennessee 4.10 Iowa 3.90 Ohio 3.70 Missouri 3.50 Maine 3.40 Vermont 3.40 Louisiana 3.30 Wyoming 3.10 Alabama 3.00 Kentucky 2.50 North Dakota 2.40 South Dakota 1.80 Mississippi 1.70 Montana 1.70 West Virginia 1.30 Table 1: American Community Survey 2007, R0501: Percent of People Who Are Foreign