Writing Projects
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Both writing projects require you to use a spreadsheet to compute an apportionment, based on the 2010 census. While hand calculation is theoretically possible, it is not recommended.
The first step is to download the data as an XLS file from the Census Bureau. Go to www.census.gov/population/apportionment/
The spreadsheet with the 2010 apportionment can be found under the “Data” tab. To modify this spreadsheet to suit the purpose of either project, you will need to put in some additional columns. Place the divisor in cell . Start with standard divisor, 710,767, which you may adjust later. Type “Divisor” in cell as a reminder of what you have entered. You can input formulas for the apportionment quotients by entering in cell and copying this expression to the range in column . (The dollar sign in the expression is important; without it, when the expression is copied to cell , for example, it would be , and a divide by zero error would be noted.)
The spreadsheet function can be used to put , for each apportionment quotient , in the next column, . Thus, enter in cell , and copy this formula to the range . You will put the rounding point (Hill-Huntington or Dean) in column . For example, for Hill-Huntington, put in cell , and copy the formula through .
The tentative apportionments go in column . You’ll use the function. The first entry of this function is a logical expression—that is, a statement that the computer can evaluate as true or false. The second entry is evaluated if the expression is true, the third if the expression is false. A state’s tentative apportionment is obtained by rounding its apportionment quotient down if it is less than the rounding point, and rounding it up otherwise. Therefore, enter
in cell , and copy this through cell J61.
The final modification is to put the sum of the tentative apportionments,
in cell J62. When this is done, you can experiment by adjusting the divisor in cell G63. When the value in this cell changes, you will immediately see the changes in the tentative apportionments and their total.
Suppose that state has population and its tentative apportionment is , while state has population and tentative apportionment . Which of these states is most deserving of the next seat, in the sense that absolute differences in district population are minimized? (Of course, another state may be more deserving, but we are comparing states two at a time.) To see how to answer this question:
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