BTW- Cell Phone Bill

Task Card 1 Read the following problem you and your team needs to solve:

The Problem: You will be acting as a cell phone analysist. You will research cell phone bill information and gather information about what letters are used most. It is your job to determine how much each letter will cost.

Task Card 2 – Background Information Directions: Read the background information below to start your research process. The Cost of Texting Doesn't Add Up By ELISABETH LEAMY June 16, 2009 ABC News Photo Illustration Texting is a life line for young people, and a goldmine for cell phone companies. Some 3.3 trillion text messages will wing their way around the world this year. That's a 600 percent increase since Texting is a lifeline for young people, and a goldmine for cell phone companies. Why? Text messages are tiny. A one-minute phone call uses up the same amount of network capacity as 600 text messages. However, the phone call costs an average of 15 cents, whereas if you pay on a per text basis, those text messages would cost $120. Lena Dangerfield, 14, of Atlanta estimates that she sends as many as 100 text messages some days. "I don't really think about how much it costs because I don't get the bills," she said. The family's cell phone bills tripled when she went from just talking to texting. Her parents tried to get her to cut back, but then fled to an unlimited texting plan to avoid nasty surprises. Today in Washington, D.C., senators grilled the wireless industry about how much it costs to transmit text messages, versus how companies are charging consumers. One researcher who testified before the Senate committee today estimated it costs wireless providers 3 tenths of one cent to transmit a text. Consumer advocates are livid. The major cell phone carriers all raised their per-text price within months of each other to 20 cents -- quadruple what they charged just four years ago. "This is a head scratcher to consumers because these rising costs are not at all related to the pricing incurred by the carrier," said Joel Kelsey of Consumers Union. (

Task Card 3 – Background Information Directions: Read the background information below to start your research process. Guess What Texting Costs Your Wireless Provider? By Eric Bender Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 When my teenage son ignores me while tapping away furiously on his cell phone, I have the consolation of knowing that he has joined the quickest- growing form of two-way communication in human history. A decade ago, just about no one in the U.S. sent these messages, known as Short Message Service (SMS) texts. This year, we will zing out 1.2 trillion of them, predicts market-intelligence firm IDC. That translates to a barrage of messages from each user, especially teens, who seem to be receiving new text messages — a.k.a. "blowing up" — more than they take new breaths. The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text messages per month, according to Nielsen Mobile. "With teens, the act of picking up a phone and calling someone is dropping away," notes Christopher Collins, a senior analyst with Yankee Group. (

Task Card 4 – Research to Get You Started Your research: You are to go home and interview your parent/guardian who pays the cell phone bill. What are some good questions to ask them? (Example: What is our average monthly bill? How much does it cost just for texting? Why might we see a spike in our bill? Etc.) Please fill out the interview form provided in your folder. At the next meeting, compare your interview with your other group members. Can you come up with an average cell phone bill cost?

Task Card 5: Discussion Points Directions: Discuss with your group what you read and researched. Think about some of the questions below. How much does a cell phone cost the average American? How many texts does someone your age send a day? What about your parents? Siblings?

Task Card 6: Project Requirements 1.)Read the following directions BEFORE you start. 2.) You will be using your research and your texting conversations to complete the following tables/ graphs 3.) Using these graphs, you will come up with which letters belong in each category. 4.) When you have completed ALL of the graphs, research, and math, you will create a digital presentation which will be used to present your research to the cell phone company. It is your job to explain why you choose the letters in the categories and why you choose those prices. When you are ready to begin, turn the page.

Texting Tallies What if you had to pay for each letter you use in texting? What letters would you want to be free? Can you predict the letters that appear most often? Make a list the letters of the alphabet in the following three categories (predictions): Category A (10 free letters) _________________________________________________ Category B (10 letters ½ price) ______________________________________________ Category C (6 letters full price) ______________________________________________

Using a piece of graph paper, create a frequency table and a bar graph with the data you have collected. Since you will be working with 26 letters you will have to create two tables and two bar graphs. The first one will contain the data for letters A-M. The second will contain the data for N-Z. Based on your data, would you change the category for any letters? List the letters for each category. Category A (10 letters)- ________________________________________________________ Category B (10 letters)- ________________________________________________________ Category C (6 letters)- ________________________________________________________ Calculate the following: Mode (which letter occurred most often)- Median (put the numbers in order and find the one in the middle, match that number with the letter it represents)- Mean (average number of times the letters were used)-

Journal Entry-Would mode, median, or mean be a better choice for determining the categories for the letters? Why?

Based on the data from the whole class, what price would you set for the letters in each category? Category A - ____free_______ Category B - ______________ Category C- ______________ Using these prices, find the Mean cost of texting for your data collected on “Texting Tallies” _______________________________________

Based on the data from the whole class, what price would you set for the letters in each category? Category A - ____free_______ Category B - ______________ Category C- ______________ Using these prices, find the Mean cost of texting for your data collected on “Texting Tallies” _______________________________________

If you owned the cell phone company, would you choose the same letters? Why or why not? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________ If you owned the cell phone company, which letters would you place in each of the categories? Category A- 10 letters _________________________________________________________________ Category B- 10 letters _________________________________________________________________ Category C- 6 letters _________________________________________________________________

Journal- If your categories differ from the cell phone company categories, what compromise could be reached?

Create a digital presentation which will be used to present your research to the cell phone company. It is your job to explain why you choose the letters in the categories and why you choose those prices.