Blog Submission #2

Alessandro Ceccarelli

Blog Submission Number 2

Part a:

1.     Find an online periodical (newspaper, journal, magazine, etc), not a math periodical, economics is fine, however.

·       Statistics on Payton Manning’s performance this season.

·       See chart pasted in question number four, or open the link below.

·       http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/12531/peyton-manning

2.     Recall the criteria for determining relationships that are functions.

·       To be a function, a graph has to pass the vertical line test. In addition, one output has to be paired with exactly one input.

3.     Search the periodical for a relationship that represents a function (in graph, table, or formula format).

·       Found statistics regarding Peyton Manning’s passing yards, touch down passes, and completion vs. attempts in the first three games of the 2014 regular season.

·       This relationship an example of a function because, when using week into season and passing yards, one input, say Week One, only has one output, 269 passing yards.

4.     Explain in words the meaning of this relationship.

·       The relationship below (together with other information) is between the number of passing yards by the quarterback Payton Manning and different weeks of play against different opponents.

Week	Date	Opp.	Comp-Att	Yds	TD	Int
1	9/7/14	IND	22-36	269	3	0
2	9/14/14	KC	21-26	242	3	0
3	9/21/14	SEA	31-49	303	2	1

5.     Determine whether the function is a linear function.

·       This function is not linear because the rate of change between the three games’ passing yards during the different weeks is not the same, therefore not resulting in a straight line.
Proof: (242-269)/(2-1)= -27 and (303-242)/(3-2)= 61 (ROC is not equal)

6.     If the function is linear, explain in detail how you know the function is linear (be sure to refer to the average rate of change).

·       It is not a linear function.

7.     If the function is not linear, explain in detail how you know it is not linear (be sure to refer to the average rate of change).

·       I know it is not a linear function by doing the calculation for the Rate Of Change (ROC). This is done by plugging in the x and y values of the coordinates into the following formula:

(y2-y1)/(x2-x1)

·       In other words, one must find the slope of each set of coordinates in questions in order to understand if the ROC is constant.

8.     Determine whether the function is a mathematical model (be sure to use function notation.)

·       This example is also not a mathematical model because the number of passing yards in not dependent on the number of weeks into the season. In other words, the total number of yards passed during a game, will not be affected by a given week. As we can see, Payton did better in the first game than the second game, but then got his best in the third game.

·       Function notation: Passing yards= f(Week)

Part b:

1.     Recall the criteria determining relationships that are not functions.

·       If a graph fails the vertical line test or if one output has multiple inputs, it is not a function.

2.     Find an online periodical with a relationship that is not a function.

·       Report on value of dollars to euros at different points in time.

·       See chart below, or open link to see full report.

·       http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Currencies

 

3.     Explain in words the meaning of this relationship.

·       Here we can see the relationship between the value of the dollar compared to the euro and how these values changed throughout the week of September 29^th to October 3^rd.

4.     Explain in detail how you know the relationship is not a function.

·       Here we can see that the values do not create a function because if we take input, Friday 3/10, there are multiple outputs for that day ranging from roughly 0.793 to roughly 0.798 Euros to one dollar. Remember, the rule is that for every output, there must only be exactly one input. Therefore, this is not a function.

Part c:

1.     After completing your blog entry, thoughtfully and critically comment (praise and/or critique) on the posts of members in your blog group.

I will do this closer to the due date.