That Time Of Year!

  It is the time of year again, when the state of Alaska sends out a check to every qualified resident.  In 2015, they sent out over 680.000 checks for a state with a population of over 725.000.  If you have a bank account and ask fo it to be direct deposited, you get it the first day of October, otherwise you have to wait a few more days.

This year, the dividend sent amounted to $1606, just six dollars more than the dividend issued in 2018.  The State of Alaska of publishes information on the Permanent Fund Dividend from 1982 when they began sending money out to people.  They provide enough information to great a variety of graphs.

For the years 1982 to 2016, the State has a chart with the year, the state population, the number of applications received, the number of applications paid, the amount of the dividend, the percent of change from the previous year's amount, and the total amount of money distributed.

These numbers provide so many opportunities for students to graph the information in a variety of ways.

1.  Students can calculate the percent difference between the  number of applications paid and the state population for each year and graph that.

2.  Students can calculate the percent difference between the number of applications received and the number of applications paid.

3.  Students can graph the amount paid each year vs the price of crude oil to see if there is a correlation between the two.

4.  Students can graph the percent change from amount paid year to year to view how it changes over time.  This information could be used to create a line of best fit.

5.  Students graph the yearly total amounts paid out to all the applicants, to see how much is spent every year.

6.  There are also totals from 1982 to 2016 for applications received, applications paid out, dividend per person, and total amount dispersed to obtain an average per year for each of these categories.

This is real life data for those of us who live in Alaska.  Many people spend their money to buy new snow machines or ATV's, go on trips, or even buy new clothing.  I'm using mine to pay for a new heater for my house.  It should almost cover the cost.  Not quite but almost.

Let me now what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.