Huntington Park's Population

I was recently browsing the official website of the City of Huntington Park, home of Gage Middle School, and I stumbled upon some demographic information that got me thinking.
According to the site:

• Total population of HP: 61,348
• Hispanic population: 58, 636
• Registered voters: 13,137

These numbers made me wonder about percentages and languages. Your task is to answer the following questions:

1. What percentage of the residents of Huntington Park are Hispanic?
2. What percentage of the residents of Huntington Park are registered to vote?
3. Do you think the large number of Hispanics living in the city means that the city's website should be bilingual? (see poll on the right)
   

Email me the answers to the first 2 questions. To answer the third, you can respond to the poll on the right.

HINT: To figure out the percents, start by figuring out the fraction (how many Hispanic out of how many total, and how many registered to vote out of how many total) then turn the fraction into a decimal, then a percent. You can use a calculator if you prefer.

Brandon's Dilemma

One of my friends and neighbors, Brandon, recently added raised beds to his backyard.  He plans to use them to grow vegetables for his family.  He built the beds and was getting ready to fill them with soil when he came to us for advice.  Here is his dilemma:

He has two raised beds, each measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, and they are 6 inches deep.  The soil he wants to fill them with is sold in cubic yards.  He asked us to help him figure out how many cubic yards of soil he should get.  Can you help out?

Here are a couple of hints for figuring out the answer:

1. Convert all measurements into yards. How? Here is some information that may help you:  1 yard = 3 feet, 1 foot = 12 inches, 1 yard = 36 inches
2. Calculate the volume of one bed in cubic yards, then double the answer, since there are two beds.

The next question is, how much will he pay for all that soil if one cubic yard costs #20?

Good luck, and I am looking forward to your emails with answers and explanations. :)

The Oinkster: A Slow Fast Food Restaurant

During one of those hot hot Spring weekends, we decided to go out and have a hamburger to lunch. We picked a restaurant called "The Oinkster." Their motto is that they are a slow fast food restaurant. I think they mean that they serve traditional fast food type dishes, but they prepare it fresh, and so you need to wait for it a little bit.

We had our burgers, and fries, and salad, and we were just about ready to leave when I noticed a little survey on the table. I took one with me, click the Oinkster logo below to see it.

Your job is to look at the survey and answer these questions:

1. What type of sampling method is Oinkster using for this survey? Explain/justify your answer.
2. Describe another sampling method they could have used.
3. What would be the best way to sample Oinkster customers for this survey?
   

Sunday Times

Mr. Billett and I have the Sunday edition of the LA Times delivered to our door. We recently got a bill, and Mr. Billett sat down to figure out whether we are saving money by having the paper delivered, or whether it would be better to walk down to the corner and pick one up in person every Sunday.

According to the bill, we paid $17.20 to have the paper delivered every Sunday between 03/10/08 and 05/05/08. The price of the Sunday Times is $1.25 if you buy it in person.

Your job is to figure out:
1. Which is the better deal: delivery or walking to get the paper?
2. How much would we save over a whole year with the better deal?

Submitted by Jazmin

The following problem was submitted by one of my students, Jazmin. It is an excellent example of everyday Math.