Homework 1
Problems
Math 114Q, Section 10

  1. The Subprime Credit Offer chart (reproduced below) gives explicit data for the five companies that sent out the most solicitations. What fraction of all solicitations did these five account for in 2007? What percentage of all solicitations?

  2. The largest direct mail solicitor in both 2006 and 2007 was HSBC. To what extent does its increase from then to now account for the total increase in the industry?

  3. Find out something about HSBC. If you can, try to find out something about its credit card business. Clearly you'll use the web. Do so critically. Do believe everything you read?

  4. Use the web to try to find out how many people in the United States have a low credit score (below 650). What percentage of the population is that? What percentage of the adults?

    You may not be able to discover all the numbers you need. But the question asks you to try. So your answer should document how you tried. What google searches did you perform? What web sites did you reach? Which ones were useful, which not? On the basis of what you discovered, what's your best estimates for what we asked for? What's your confidence in the accuracy of that estimate?

    Note. The sentence "I think the number is xx." is not a good answer if that's all you say. We're not asking your opinion. You must follow that answer with a paragraph that says "I think so because ..."

  5. Find a chart or table in the Boston Globe that deals with numbers you are interested in. Describe the chart or table, explain why it's interesting (to you) and write a paragraph or two analyzing it, in the style we've practiced in class. If you can say something about percentages so much the better.