Homework 5

Econ 5, Project 5
Due Date: Feb 17th, by 7:00pm Pacific Time
You can submit your Excel spreadsheet AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT. You will see your score
each time. Your LAST SUBMISSION’s score will be your score for the project. Autograder will only
score the numeric parts of the assignment, the graphs will be graded by your TA after the due date so they
cannot be revised.
Overview
In this project, you are part of a team of scientists and economists, evaluating the health costs of
pollution in an urban area. The key index of air quality is referred to as the AQI. The higher the
AQI, the more pollution that is in the air. When the AQI exceeds 100, there is an elevated risk of
asthmatic symptoms, along with significant other health costs in the population.
After analyzing years of data, the average daily AQI for this area is 90, with a standard deviation
of 8. The distribution is approximately normal. So for all analysis in this project, it is assumed
that the distribution is continuous and normal.
Note for this project, there is no Excel sheet that will be provided to you. You will need to start
with a blank Excel spreadsheet and complete all tasks described below.
To Receive Credit
General Instructions:
• Make sure your capitalization is correct for any non-numeric entries as the autograder is
case sensitive.
• Dataset sent to each student is different. Do not share your dataset with others.
Excel Instructions:
• The Excel spreadsheet you submit must have a title of the following form: Project5.xlsx.
• Make sure Sheet 1 in your Excel file includes all calculations, answers, and graphs. Only
Sheet 1 will be graded.
• Make sure Sheet 1 is formatted as specified in the instructions; autograder will only grade
entries that are in the correct cells.
• You MUST use Excel, NOT Google Sheets, NOT Numbers. Make sure you download
the file as an Excel spreadsheet. If you accidently open it in Google Sheets download it to
your computer as an Excel file, do NOT cut and paste to an Excel spreadsheet as you
might mess up the format and create errors that make it impossible for Autograder to read
your file.
Graph Instructions:
• All graphs must also be submitted as a single PDF with titled Project5.pdf as instructed
below.
• All graphs MUST include the following:
o A title that describes the main point.
o A graph number as described in the instructions. The graph number must be at the
beginning of the graph title.
o Meaningful, readable labels for axes and categories.
o A legend when it necessary.
o The graph must be self-explanatory, i.e. someone who is not familiar with the
context and data could understand its main message.
Required Elements (all elements must be in Sheet 1 in your Excel file)
(1) Calculate the Z value for the AQI at 100, given an average of 90 and standard deviation of 8.
Do this calculation in cell C3.
(2) What is the probability that a given day has an AQI over 100? Do this calculation in call C6.
(3) In a 365-day year, what is the expected number of days of AQI over 100? Do this calculation
in cell C8. Do not round your result.
(4) Simulate 1000 days of AQI readings based on the following instructions: (a) in cells F3F1002, generate a random number between 0 and 1, using the RAND function in Excel; (b) in
cells G3-G1002, generate an AQI at random using the NORMINV function in Excel (and
remember that the average of the distribution is 90 and the standard deviation is 8). After you
complete this exercise, you need to copy all numbers and use paste them in the same locations
using the Paste Values feature. (Note that although this will not be directly graded, it needs to be
done correctly to provide a reasonable-looking graph that is described below.
(5) In your sample in cells G3-G1002, calculate in cell G1005 the number of days of AQI over
100, using the COUNTIF function in Excel.
(6) Graph 1: Create a histogram of the simulated AQI readings in cells G3-G1002. To get credit,
you must have an appropriate title for the graph, you must set the bin width on the horizontal
axis to 5, the entire range of each bin must be visible (make the graph larger if needed), and the
distribution must look approximately normal with a peak close to 90. (Note: If you do not have a
normal-looking distribution, you need to repeat elements 4-6.)
Leaderboard
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When uploading the Excel spreadsheet to GradeScope, you will be prompted to provide a
name for the leaderboard. A leaderboard is a tool that allows you to monitor accuracy and
timing of your submission relative to others in the class.
You can pick your own leaderboard name, please make sure it is appropriate and
respectful, given that the leaderboard is visible to all students in the class. Use the same
leaderboard name for all submissions this quarter.
DO NOT use your real name as your leaderboard name. If you accidentally use your real
name as your leaderboard name, submit again, the original leaderboard entry will be
deleted.
The leaderboard will NOT affect your course grade at all. If you don’t want your
leaderboard name to be uniquely identified, you can type Optout Otter as your
leaderboard name.
DO NOT leave the leaderboard name blank, your submission will not be processed.
DO NOT share your leaderboard name with other students. A student’s leaderboard name
is known only to that particular student and course instructors.
Leaderboard ranks all submissions by the SUBMISSION TIME among the class
members. The earlier the submission, the higher the rank. Note though, the leaderboard
ONLY ranks those who got FULL SCORE on the autograder part of the assignment. For
example, if you and another student both got a full score, and you submitted earlier, your
leaderboard name will appear higher on the leaderboard than the other student’s. Please
notice that your leaderboard name would appear at the bottom of the leaderboard if your
submission scored less than FULL SCORE on the autograder part of the assignment.
After your submission, click on “Leaderboard” on the “Autograder Results page” to
check the ranking.
Submitting your project
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You must include the two files described in the “To Receive Credit” section above. One
file needs to be submitted as an Excel spreadsheet, while the other a PDF. Sheet 1 must
be formatted as described above.
You must also submit all graphs in PDF form. The easiest way to do this is to copy the
Excel graphs into Word using COPY followed by PASTE IMAGE. (It may also be listed
as Paste Picture.) Once all graphs are in the word doc and nicely formatted and sized, you
can save the document as a PDF. We require that you submit as a PDF rather than a word
document because formatting is sometimes compromised in the transfer for word
documents, but PDFs always transfer exactly as you formatted it. This file must have a
title of the following format Project5.pdf.
All graphs need to be in BOTH on Sheet 1 of the excel file AND separately, in the PDF
file.
These two files must be uploaded to GradeScope before the project deadline.
Your submission must have NO hidden rows or columns.
Grading Rubric for Project 5 (each element must be completely correct to receive credit;
no partial credit given)
Required Element 1 is correct
Required Element 2 is correct
Required Element 3 is correct
Required Element 5 is correct
Required Element 6 is correct
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point