John & Maggy



Honors Algebra II Project

Can you imagine what it will be like when you finally graduate and land that first real job?  What will you do with all that money?  Well, you will need to decide how to invest it. You will have to decide what kind of car you want to drive. You might even consider buying a house. Along with all that freedom will come some mighty big financial responsibilities.

Task

You will be completing a WebQuest for the bulk of this project. During this WebQuest, you will imagine that you are a recent graduate. You must use your knowledge of exponential growth and decay functions to make some important financial decisions. For example, you will have to decide where you will bank and invest your money. You will also decide whether or not investing large amounts of money into a home or automobile are wise financial decisions.  

Process

PART 1:

You just received $10,000 from a long lost uncle as a graduation gift. You must decide which financial institution and what type of account you will put it in. Your goal is to obtain as much interest as possible, because you have big plans for the future.

Steps:

1. Visit the websites of several financial institutions to determine which bank/account offers the best interest rates. Be aware of extra fees and required minimum balances.

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2. Fill out the “Bank Worksheet.” It will be turned in with your final project.

3. Use the worksheet to record your findings for the top three saving accounts. 

4. Use the highest yielding interest rate to determine what your account will be worth in 10, 25, and 40 years. 

PART 2:

Now that you are commuting to work everyday, you are considering buying a new car.  However, you are undecided if you should invest in a new car or just keep the one you have. You have heard that cars depreciate a lot, and you don't want to waste your hard earned money. 

Let's do a little investigating to see if cars really do depreciate and if so, by how much. 

Decide on a used automobile that you would like to purchase. Find the vehicle using the Internet. The vehicle must be at least 3 years old. You must attach a copy a screenshot of the advertisement to your work. Fill out the “Car Worksheet.” It will be turned in with your final project.

Websites:

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You must:

1. Determine the current price.

2. Determine the original price when the car was sold new.

3. What is the rate of depreciation? Write an equation that represents the model of the car’s depreciation.

4. Using that model, what will the car be worth in 5 years from now?

5. Graph the information above using GeoGebra or Desmos. Take a screenshot of your graph.

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6. When will the car be worth zero?

7. Is a car an investment? Why or why not?

PART 3:

Now you need somewhere to live! Decide on a house that is being advertised for sale.  Include a copy of the advertisement in your work. Fill out the “House Worksheet.” It will be turned in with your final project.

Websites:

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You must:

1. What is the current value of the house?

2. How old is the house?

3. What was the original price of the home or the price of the home when purchased years ago?

4. What is the rate of appreciation? Write an equation to represent the home’s appreciation.

5. Using that model, what will be the price of the home in 10 years?

8. Show a graph of the information above using GeoGebra or Desmos. Take a screenshot of your graph.

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6. When will the home triple in value? (From current value)

7. Is a house an investment? Why or why not?            

Hint: It may be easier to decide on a house in which you know the current owners. You can ask them what they paid when they purchased the home.  Don't forget to find out what year they purchased it.  Then use a site such as Zillow to determine the current price of the house. (You could even use your own house!)

Part 4:

Well, hopefully after completing this WebQuest, you will have a better understanding of exponential growth and decay models and their graphs.  Additionally, you should have gained some insight into how the value of your bank account, car, and home can change over time.

The last part of this project is to discuss your findings with your classmates. You must post on the discussion board on Schoology by the end of class on Friday. In your post, you must:

1. Tell about your results. Explain what you chose for the bank, car, and home. Feel free to attach pictures of what you chose!

2. Should you invest? Why or why not?

3. Explain how you used math to help you make these decisions.

4. Tell two main things you learned or thought were interesting during this project.

You must respond to a minimum of two classmates by 11:59 PM on Sunday.

That’s it! You are finished! Submit all worksheets, screenshots, notes, and other materials you feel demonstrate the work you did for this project. Your submissions need to be neat, organized, and professional. Make sure everything is labeled so I know what everything represents.

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