Algebra I

Quarter I

Project: You are only as old as you feel!

Introduction
Do you think you may live to be 100 years old? In the United States, the number of older people is increasing. In 1970, 9.8% of the people in the United States were 65 years of age or older, while by 2000, the percent for that age category had increased to 12.4%. In California in 2000, people 65 years and older represented 10.7% of the total population.In this project, you will explore how equations, functions, and graphs can help represent aging and population growth.

The Task
In your new job as an advisor to the governor of your state, you have been asked to prepare a portfolio or Web page to inform the residents of your state about the changing age structure of people in the United States. Your portfolio or Web page needs to contain the following information:

  • a prediction for the age structure of the U.S. for the year 2050;
  • a prediction of how life in the U.S. will change due to the aging of Americans;
  • support for the predictions using mathematics, graphs, tables, and/or facts that you find so that the residents of your state will have confidence in your predictions.

The Process
To successfully complete this project, you will need to complete the following items.

  • Find data about the age structure of the United States for the 20th century. For example, how many people were 65 or over in 1900? How many people were under 5 in 1960? How many people were 25-34 in 1980?
  • Devise a method you can use to predict the age structure of the population in the future.
  • Use the data on age and population to prepare some type of graph(s) or table(s) to visually display your findings.
  • Find another set of data, of your choice, that relates to aging. Display the data in a graph or table and include a brief description of the data.
  • Explain your findings and describe the changes that you predict in the U.S. due to an aging population.
  • Be creative. Add some additional data, information, or even pictures to your portfolio or Web page.

Guidance
Here are some additional questions and ideas you may want to consider for adding information to your project.

  1. How has the average life expectancy for people in the United States changed during the 20th century?
  2. How did the leading causes of death change during the 20th century? (Consider both diseases and accidents.) Why have these changed?
  3. How does Social Security help retired people to meet their financial needs? In what other ways do retired people find the money to cover expenses?
  4. How might products, services, and advertising change as the age of the population changes?
  5. Will the elderly work longer? Will they be able to compete in the job market with younger people?
  6. In the year 2050, you may be nearing retirement age. How will your lifestyle differ from the lifestyle of your parents or grandparents when they retired?
  7. Consider finding data about the age distribution of the population in another country or worldwide. Compare this data to U.S. data.