Unit 9, Lesson 10
More than Two Choices (Optional)
Accelerated 6
Preparation
Lesson Narrative
This optional lesson introduces the complications that arise in elections with more than two choices. Students explore different rules for determining the winner—plurality, runoff, and ranked—and discover that the rules can give different results from the same set of voter preferences. They construct arguments about which voting rule more fairly represents the opinions of the voters (MP3). The mathematics in these activities emphasizes quantitative reasoning in a real-world situation as students compare the results of different voting systems (MP2).
- Choose and justify (orally) which voting system seems the fairest for dealing with more than two choices.
- Compare and contrast (orally and in writing) different voting systems for dealing with more than two choices, i.e., plurality, runoff, and instant runoff.
- Interpret (orally and in writing) voting situations involving two choices through the use of ratios and percentages.
Let's explore different ways to determine a winner.
Required Preparation
None