Extra Credit Assignments

I will post extra credit assignments here. If you successfully complete an extra credit assignment I will replace your lowest homework score with a 100 at the end of the semester. If you don't complete the assignment I will not penalize you in any way. I would ask that you let me know that you won't complete it though.

All extra credit problems will ask you to find a statistic for me. You will probably be able to find them by searching the internet. WSU students also have access to Lexis-Nexus searches here. There may also be some useful links on the class Links Page. FedStats might also be helpful. You don't need to use the internet if you don't want to.

E-mail me at stat110@edcallahan.com if you want to do one of these problems. I only want one or two students to do each extra credit problem. Wait to get an acknowledgement from me before you start working on a problem.

I will want a reference for where you got your information. A website address or a photocopy of a document would be best.

1. (Taken) Today (January 28) I heard a report on NPR that 1 in 10 middle school students smoke. They said the report came from the CDC. Find out what the CDC definition of a smoker was in this study.
    
2. (Taken) Find out what percent of homicides committed in America are inter-racial and intra-racial. Of all whites who have been murdered (maybe in 1998 or 1999) how many were murdered by a white person and how many were murdered by a black person? And find the same numbers for blacks who have been murdered. I'd like to have national numbers and/or numbers from just Texas. You might find something on the US Justice Department's website, from their Bureau of Justice Statistics or from the FBI.
    
3. (Taken) On Tuesday, February 1, 60 Minutes II had a story had a story about rape in South Africa and estimated that one woman is raped there every 26 seconds. Where did that statistic come from and how was it determined? American newspapers don't cover Africa very much so you might want to start with the BBC.
    
4. (Taken) How does the CDC estimate the number of influenza cases in America each year?
    
5. What states have "concealed carry laws", which means that citizens of the state are allowed to carry concealed handguns, probably after some licensing procedure. I bet the NRA webpage has this info somewhere.

E-mail Mr. Callahan at stat110@edcallahan.com with questions or comments about this web site or about the class itself.