Titus 1

Kara Titus
Mr. Kiker
Pre-Calculus
8 September 2014
Chinas Pollution
2,289 deaths. That is the estimated amount of people, in Beijing alone, that
perished as a result of Chinas air pollution in 2012. Climate change, or global warming,
is a big issue in our world today. The cause of this warming originates from many
things, but one that is making a great impact on our Earths atmosphere is rising CO2
levels. Our economies today revolve around the burning of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels
are burned in our cars, in our commercial factories, and in order to make electricity for
us. China has been, and remains the leading offender of heavy air pollution for many
years now. I chose to research Chinas population and the amount of CO2 they emit
annually because I thought that there would be a correlation between the two. This data is
not only crucial to the lives of Chinese citizens, but it affects every person living on this
Earth now and for the rest of our existence. If we do not figure more information out soon
about whom and what is emitting the most gas and how to stop it, in a couple hundred
years our world will be a completely different place than the one it is now. Climate
change is a HUGE issue, and the more evidence collected that leads toward a plausible
solution, the better.
After analyzing my scatterplot, I chose to do a cubic regression. After graphing
this regression, I found my r2 value to equal .9798. This value is especially relevant to my
data because it tells me that there is not only a correlation between my two variables, but

Titus 2
that the correlation between my variables is very high. If my r2 value would have been 1,
that would have meant a perfect correlation between my variables. But, since my number
is so incredibly close to 1, I am able to conclude that Chinas population and their CO2
emissions annually are most definitely connected.

y=2561.86 x + 92748.38 x 573570.86 x +4115386.53

2

r =.9798
The slope of my data is very steep at first, but then levels out. The slope is steep at
first because it shows the sudden population growth of China between 1995 and 2002. As
the population grows to around 52 million, the slope levels out and the CO2 levels start to
grow larger. The CO2 levels skyrocketed between Chinas population of 50 and 80
million. The y-intercept of my data can be interpreted, as a population of 4 million, when
there was not even half as much CO2 emissions as there are in China today.

Titus 3
The estimated population when the emissions were only 10 million (kt) is
-3E21. The population when the emissions were 20 million (kt) is estimated to be -2E22.
While when the emissions reach 8.5 million (kt), the estimated population is -2E24.
Dear Mr. Kiker, I just now realized after reviewing my project that I have
switched my dependent and independent variables. I am realizing this as I am finalizing
and editing my report. I have no time to fix it before tomorrow. All of the work is correct,
but it is switched. The CO2 emissions should be dependent on the population, not the
other way around. I just wanted to let you know that I realize my mistake, but I
understand the whole projects concept as a whole, I just made this one error that I should
have noticed earlier on. Hope you will understand. (104 words)
There are many jobs that can use my data to their advantage. These various jobs
include college professors, scientists, physicists, and anyone in the field of research of
climate change. My data would be useful in order to advise the public or produce new
laws in order for fewer gases to be emitted into our atmosphere. These careers are highly
relevant to our society today because the people working to slow climate change are not
todays heroes, but they are tomorrows heroes. If these people use their research to come
up with working conclusions, they could save the world. Although that sounds silly, it is
completely true. Their work has the capability of saving millions. They must only follow
through with their ideas and make things happen for them to be credited as heroes.

Emissions

Titus 4

Works Cited
"List of Global Warming and Climate Change Experts for Media."DeSmogBlog.
DeSmogBlog, Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
"AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA." Facts and Details. Jeffery Hays, Jan. 2014. Web. 8
Sept. 2014.
Lobello, Carmel. "8 Scary Facts about China's 'smogpocalypse'" Yahoo! News. Yahoo!,
22 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.