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Tiered Rewards (Part 1): You are looking to apply for a new credit card.  In researching some options out there, you find a card that is advertising a “tiered reward” system.  Curious, you look up the details. What you find is that the rewards are structured this way: If total spent is over— but less than— Card Rewards: $50 $500 1.5% of total spending over $50 $500 $1,000 $6.75 plus 2.75% of total spending over $500 $1,000 $10,000 $20.50 plus 4.25% of the amount over $1,000 $10,000 no limit $403 plus 5.5% of the amount over $10,000   A – [7 points] How much would you receive in rewards if you spent $850 on the card in a given month? B – [3 points] What would be the effective reward rate for the spending in part (A)? C – [4 points] In a sentence or two, explain what this effective reward means in this context.

Tiered Rewards (Part 2): You are looking to apply for a new credit card.  In researching some options out there, you find a card that is advertising a “tiered reward” system.  Curious, you look up the details. What you find is that the rewards are structured this way: If total spent is over— but less than— Card Rewards: $50 $500 1.5% of total spending over $50 $500 $1,000 $6.75 plus 2.75% of total spending over $500 $1,000 $10,000 $20.50 plus 4.25% of the amount over $1,000 $10,000 no limit $403 plus 5.5% of the amount over $10,000   You will want to use your answers to Tiered Rewards (Part 1) (Question 8 above) to help you answer this question. The main drawback of this card is that it has a very high APR of 23.64%.  Suppose you are only able to initially pay $440 of the $850 you spent in the scenario above.  Then you are able to pay off the remaining balance on the next statement. You earned rewards for this spending, but then you also had to pay interest.  Did you end up gaining money or losing money?  How much was gained/lost? Hint: Consider how much you have to pay in interest.

Mortgage Comparisons (Part 1): Suppose Little Jimmy is looking to buy a house.  He has his heart set on a house that is on the market for $223,000.  Jimmy looks into his mortgage options and has found two scenarios that he thinks he could afford.  Those two scenarios are outlined in the table below: Scenario I Scenario II $45,000 down payment $30,000 down payment 3.65% interest rate on mortgage 3.25% interest rate on mortgage Mortgage calculator gives a monthly payment of $814 for the 30 year loan Mortgage calculator gives a monthly payment of $839 for the 30 year loan Make sure to label and answer each of the parts below. (A) From looking ONLY at the down payments, which scenario would you expect to have a lower total cost at the end of the 30 year loan?  Explain why. (B) From looking ONLY at the interest rates, which scenario would you expect to have a lower total cost at the end of 30 year loan?  Explain why.

AirBnB Rooms (Part 2): AirBnB has some of their massive amount of data available for the public.  Here is some information regarding a neighborhood in the Brussels, Belgium region.  Use this information to answer the following question.   Calculate an estimated mean for these Shared Room prices.  Explain how you came up with your estimate.

Moldy Bagel (Part 3): You bought a bagel a little while ago, but forgot to eat it.  When you find it again, you see a little patch of mold growing on it.  Curious, you decide to record the amount of area it covers (in square centimeters) every hour.  After recording your data, you put it into a spreadsheet and have the spreadsheet create an exponential model for you.  The model it gives you is: 

Why is it important to treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) with multiple drugs?

Jeff Bezos’ Money (Part 4): Comparing Values: Use your answers from Jeff Bezos’ Money (Part 1) and Jeff Bezos’ Money (Part 2) above to answer the following question. Find what percent “off” your Part 1 (rough estimation) value was in comparison to the exact value you calculated in Part 2.  In other words, what is the percent difference between your answer in Part 1 in comparison to your answer in Part 2?

What must be done before applying non-sterile disposable gloves?

Which of the following should never be done with used needles?

Jeff Bezos’ Money (Part 3): Comparing Values: Use your answers from Jeff Bezos’ Money (Part 1) and Jeff Bezos’ Money (Part 2) above to answer the following question. Compare your values for Parts 1 and 2.  Was your rough estimate an under or over-estimate? Explain why it makes sense that it was under/over based on your estimation calculations.