My Precalculus midterm was a project which required students to analyze graphical documentations of infant mortality rates throughout the past century. These graphs provided three separate sets of data: rates from the United States, from Iraq, and from Rwanda. With seven assigned prompts for this project, students were encouraged to demonstrate their comprehension and abilities in drawing conclusions from numerical data and relationships.  

 

With additional instructions requiring the use of Desmos, an online graphic calculator, I’ve made sure to implement screenshots of any plots or graphs I’ve developed. First, I analyze and interpret the data regarding infant mortality rates in the United States. Next, I move onto Iraq and then to Rwanda, whose graph shows two major inconsistencies in the regression curve which would have normally declined. 

 

I began with a simple yet important goal of wanting to develop correct solutions. This meant keeping my work clear of any errors and utilizing my graphing calculator to produce equations. The project required me to find slope, linear regression, exponential regression, and more. While developing these answers, I double checked each step and calculation I made to prevent any careless mistakes. After triple checking my work, I submitted the project and received feedback from my instructor, who found zero errors in my answers. 

 

My second goal was to give clear interpretations of Rwanda’s spikes in its graph, identifying and connecting Rwanda’s major historical events to the sudden inconsistency seen in its infant mortality rates. The graphs of the U.S. and Iraq show steady decreases in infant mortality rates, while Rwanda’s graph displays the results of two major unpredicted mass infant deaths in the years 1977 and 1994 ( seen in “Figure 4”). Wanting to demonstrate the connection between data and history, I conducted additional research relating to Rwanda and its past events which brought on mass infant deaths. After implementing the results of my research in a clear and appropriate manner, I felt that my explanation sufficiently interpreted the spikes in Rwanda’s graph. 

 

My critical analysis of these graphs allowed me to produce correct and contextual solutions, while also using my own graphing calculator to find and factor equations. This project was a great opportunity to study real, data-based graphs- from which I could enter a historical conversation and develop conclusions from. Not only did I succeed in my goal of producing correct numbers, but I was consistently encouraged to relay my reasoning and thinking behind solutions.