Algebra 1 Final Project: Modeling Linear Equations With Car Values

Name________________________

PROJECT OUTLINE

You will be looking at car values online to find out the value of the same car over a range of 6
years. Pick your favorite car, or maybe a car that you would like to own some day. Make sure
you pick a car that has been around for 6 years. With the information that you find, you will be
creating a graph and writing a linear equation in slope intercept form that represents the car’s
value.

On a poster your completed project will include:

1. A table of values for your car for each year

2. A graph of your table on graph paper with appropriate scales and titles
3. All of the information and questions completed from this handout must be completed (slope, y
intercept, equation, etc)
4. A picture of your car----OPTIONAL, You may print 1 picture of your car to include with your
project if you want to.

PART 1-GATHERING YOUR DATA ONLINE

Directions

1. In internet explorer, go to www.kbb.com. This is a website that estimates the value of used
cars.

2. Click on the “used cars by make and model” link

3. Select a year. I would suggest you start with 2005 and work your way up to 2010. (You will
be repeating this process 5 times, once for each year)

4. Select your cars by selecting a year, make, and model (for example, 2006 Volkswagen Jetta)
-You may be prompted to enter a zip code, enter the school’s zip code 98203.

5. Click the “go” button to get to the next screen.

6. There will be 3 choices on the next screen. I suggest you choose “suggested retail value”.
Make sure you choose the same thing each time you change years.

7. There may be more than one style for the car you picked (for example, 2 door, 4 door, etc.)
Select a style and make sure you pick the same style every year.

8. The next screen will have a bunch of choices. This is the “pimp my ride” page. You can
choose whatever you want but make sure you write down all of your choices. You can also just
hit the “continue” button with the choices that are already selected if you want. When you’re
done, click the “continue” button.
9. The value of the car will now appear. Write down the value of the car in the table on the
graph paper. You will now need to repeat this process 5 more times.

PART 2-CREATING A GRAPH AND WRITING AN EQUATION

After you have collected all of your data, you will create a poster that will have all the following
information:

1. Complete the table and the graph on your grid paper.

2. Draw in a line of best fit to model the points on your graph

3. Pick 2 points from the graph that are close to the line of best fit and calculate the slope (slope
triangle)

SLOPE = ___________

4. What does the slope tell you about price of your car after each year? Does the slope
increase/decrease? By how much dollars each year?

5. Approximate the y intercept (starting value) for your graph

Y int = __________

6. What does the y intercept represent in your graph? (Hint: what was the price of the car for the
first year that you researched?)

7. Write an equation in slope intercept form for your line of best fit (y = mx + b)

8. Use your equation to estimate the value of a 2012 model of your car *(When you plug in the
year, don’t plug in the number 2012. Plug in the number of years since the first year in your
table. For example, if the first year on your graph is 2005, then plug into the equation 7 for the
year 2012.)* Show your work.

9. Do you think your answer to #6 is realistic? Explain why or why not.

10. Repeat question 6 to find the value of a 2020 model of your car.

11. Do you think your answer to #8 is realistic? Explain why or why not.

12. Assume that your car was around when you were born. Use your equation to estimate how
much your car would have cost on the year you were born. (If you were born in 1996, you would
plug in -9 for x in your equation because it was 9 years before you started collecting your data.)

13. What year model of your car would have a value of 5,000 dollars? (this will probably be
back in time, i.e. a negative number or a year before you started your calculations)

14. What year model of your car would have a value of 50,000 dollars?

15. Write a few sentences about the project. Tell me what were the advantages of doing this kind
of project or something that would improve this project in the future.