Summer 2015

Social Justice and Mathematics Review

Day #1: Worldwide Distribution of Wealth

  1. What is the world population?
  1. Estimate the population for each of the six designated continental regions. Round answers to the nearest tenth of a percent:

Continental Region / Number of People / Percentage of World Population
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Europe
USA and Canada
Latin America
Total
  1. Calculate the actual percentage for each area. Then copy column #3 from question #2 into the last column:

Continental Region / Actual
Number of People / Actual Percentage of World Population / Estimated Percentage of World Population
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Europe
USA and Canada
Latin America
Total
  1. Based on your findings, identify one region where you were closest to the actual population. How did you come up with this estimate? Also, identify a region where the absolute difference between your estimate and the actual population was the largest. How did you come up with this estimate?

Now that you have thought about how the world population is distributed amongst the six continental regions, we would like you to think about the distribution of wealth in the world.

  1. Your group has 100 unifix cubes. Assume that these 100 unifix cubes represent the worldwide wealth. Separate the 100 unifix cubes into six piles, each pile associated with the wealth of a continental region. Use your best estimation skills. After you have done that, fill in the column in the table below. Discuss your reasoning as you go.

Continental Region / Number of
Unifix Cubes
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Europe
USA and Canada
Latin America
Total
  1. Estimate the total worldwide wealth? What does that mean?
  1. The total wealth is ______
  1. What is the value of each unifix cube, if we are still under the assumption that these 100 unifix cubes represent the worldwide wealth?
  1. What is another way to represent the value we used in question #7?
  1. Fill in the tables below and then discuss the differences among group estimates and the actual wealth of each continental region.

Continental Region / Actual GNI of the Continental Region / Actual Percentage of the Worldwide Wealth
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Europe
USA and Canada
Latin America
Total
  1. If the wealth was evenly distributed, how much would YOU have?
  1. What mathematics do you think you used throughout this activity?
  1. What additional issues and questions emerge from this activity?

Exit SlipName: ______

The population of Chicago is 2,695,598 and 55,983 in Irving Park. What percentage of the Chicago population lives in Irving Park?

Exit SlipName: ______

The population of Chicago is 2,695,598 and 55,983 in Irving Park. What percentage of the Chicago population lives in Irving Park?