So how will you use this idea as a part of your project?

• You will first need to choose a state that you will be making a prediction for.
• You must write a paragraph as to why you chose your state. I expect that you choose your state based on a reason that pertains to another subject as well as your own feelings. ex: I chose Alaska because Mr. Kelly talked of its importance with oil and the environment and this is important to me, or I chose Virginia because Mr. Ritter spoke of its importance as a swing state and I am from there and know what issues affect the voters there.
• You will then need to go to one of the links provided on this blog and do some research on your state.
• You will create two tables on excel that shows the percentages (one for each candidate) using only one of the poll types (most states of data that comes from a variety of polls, choose the one with the most data).
• Your table will have a title, the date of the first poll entry, cite the website and poll used, and will use days as your x label and percent as your y label.
• Since the information is given by date, the x values for your entries will look like this: The first entry will have 0, and each x value after that will enter how many days after the first poll as the value.
• Once you have your tables you are to make a graph on excel.
• Now you are to make a linear regression (or line of best fit) (don't forget to turn your diagnostic on) using both sets of data (McCain and Obama). (round to 4 decimal places)
• Now that you have a regression you are to use these to predict who will win that state on November 4th. This can be done by inputting November 4th's value in for x.
• You are to now write: a conclusion of your findings, a statement as to the accuracy of your findings (use the diagnostic feature of your TI), the impact this will have on the election and finally if you feel that the regression was a good tool to use for making a prediction.