Amtrak Reservations and MapQuest Project
URL: http://www.amtrak.com/
http://www.mapquest.com
Site Summary:
Amtrak provides updated information about its train schedules. You can choose a destination and find out departure and ticket price information.
MapQuest will help you determine the approximate distance between any two cities.
Goal:
The goal of this activity is for you to arrive at a formula to calculate the price of an Amtrak ticket based on the distance the city is from Philadelphia.
Activity:
1. Choose at least 10 major U.S. cities. At least five of those cities must be west of the Mississippi River. (If you need help choosing cities, go to the Amtrak website and in the Tickets box, click on Find a Station. You can then see a list of all of Amtrak’s stations either by city or by state.) NOTE: You may NOT use the cities mentioned in the discussion questions.
2. Fill in the information in the chart using the two websites.
Fill in your list of cities.
Using MapQuest, find the distance from Philadelphia to each city.
- Go to www.mapquest.com
- Click on Get Directions
- In the A box, type Philadelphia, PA. In the B box, type the name of the destination city.
- Mapquest will give you one or more routes from Philadelphia to the destination city along with the driving time and distance. Record the distance in the chart. (Use the shortest distance.)
Using the Amtrak site, find the cost of a coach fare ticket from Philadelphia to each city.
- Go to www.amtrak.com
- In the Tickets box, choose One Way.
- Type Philadelphia – 30th Street Station, PA for the departure city.
- Type the name of one of your destination cities in the To box.
- For the departure date, choose Monday, June 24, 2013 (This is the first Monday after school gets out in June).
- Choose Anytime for the departure time.
- Choose one adult for the passengers.
- Click Go!
- Amtrak will give you one or more possible trip options. Find the price of the lowest cost ticket and record that in your chart.
- Repeat this procedure for each of your cities.
3. Create a scatter plot of your data. Be sure to use labels and an appropriate scale.
4. Find an equation for calculating the cost of an Amtrak ticket based on the distance of the trip.
5. Draw the line of best fit on your graph.
What needs to be turned in?1. The chart with the list of destination cities, distances, and ticket costs.
2. The scatter plot of your data
3. Your answers to the discussion questions.
4. Any work you did for the extra credit questions.
5. Make sure your name is on every page!
Answer the following questions:
1. Write your linear model.
2. Interpret the slope of your model in context.
3. Interpret the y-intercept of your model in context.
4. Is the linear model appropriate? Explain.
5. Will your model be a good predictor of the price of an Amtrak ticket? Explain.
6. Rochester, NY, where Mr. Evans likes to go on vacation, is about 340 miles from Philadelphia. Using your model, find the residual for an Amtrak trip to Rochester. Show all work.
7. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, CA (where Mr. Evans used to teach), and is about 2716 miles from Philadelphia. Find the residual for a trip to UCLA. Show all work.
8. Hastings, Nebraska is near Lebanon, Kansas which is considered the geographic center of the lower 48 states of the United States. Find the residual for a trip to Hastings. Show all work.
9. Is your equation more accurate for nearby cities (Rochester), faraway cities (Los Angeles), or cities in between (Hastings)? Explain.
EXTRA CREDIT:
According to AAA, it costs about 47.6 cents per mile to drive a medium sized sedan.
A) Calculate the cost of driving to each of the cities in your chart.
B) Which is less costly, driving or taking the train? Explain.
Departure City / Destination City / Distance / Amtrak Ticket PricePhiladelphia, PA