Picking a Pet
Your class is trying to decide what type of animal to get for the class pet. Your teacher is letting the class vote to choose a goldfish, a turtle, or a hamster as the class pet.
All 20 students in your class voted for both their 1st choice and their 2nd choice for the class pet. The result s are shown in Table 1.
Using the class data shown in Table 1, complete the following frequency table. Fill in the blanks with the values.
Total 1st Choice Votes (Goldfish):
Total 1st Choice Votes (Hamster):
Total 1st Choice Votes (Turtle):
Total 2nd Choice Votes (Goldfish):
Total 2nd Choice Votes (Hamster):
Total 2nd Choice Votes (Turtle):
Create your own method for using the votes to decide a winner. Explain your method using the information from Table 1 to determine the winning pet.
Your teacher wants to use a point system to select the winning pet. She wants each pet to get a certain number of points for each 1st choice vote and a certain number of points for each 2nd choice vote.
Your teacher decides to use these rules for her point system:
Points need to be positive whole numbers.
Points for a 1st choice vote have to be greater than or equal to the points for a 2nd choice vote.
Determine point values for the 1st and 2nd choice that would result in the turtle winning. Use words and numbers to explain how this point system results in the turtle winning.
Your classmate claims there is no point system that could result in the goldfish winning. Do you agree or disagree with your classmate?
Use words and numbers to explain your reasoning.
Your principal surprises you by buying your class a turtle. He brings the turtle to your class along with a sheet from the pet store titled "Turtle Tank Rules."
The rules state:
Tank walls must be at least 1 foot tall so the turtle can't climb out.
There must be at least 400 square inches of floor space for the turtle to walk around on.
Your teacher says the volume of the tank must be smaller than 5000 cubic inches so it doesn't take up too must room in the classroom.
Give the dimensions of a tank that would work for your new turtle. Use words and numbers to explain how your tank satisfies the "Turtle Tank Rules" and your teacher's requirement.
