The object of this quiz is to adjust each circle's diameter so it splits the circle's population as evenly as possible. When you click Start you will be shown a marker on a random US census tract (there are over 80K census tracts in the US). Also you will see an circle between 200 and 500 miles radius. Adjust the diameter by rotating it using the endpoints, trying to split the halves into equal populations. Then click submit. You are scored on how close you have split the circle into 50% population in each half. Circle population is tallied by totaling all census tracts (small census areas of average 4K population) within that circle.
NOTE - population in Canada and Mexico is NOT counted at all, only US population within the circle.
An idea… to facilitate learning from the quiz without having to look everything up, once you’ve made a guess, a hint could show you a descriptor of how close you got “Boiling/Very Hot/Hot/Warm/Cold/Very Cold/ Freezing” or something like that.
Currently there’s no way to know when you make a guess if you were even remotely close, esp. since most of the ones people miss are going to be on the edges of the map. In NYC, if I get something I don’t know it most likely will be in Staten Island, far reaches of Queens or the Bronx. Those places are all far apart, so the next time, I’d be more likely to get in the right area, instead of just randomly clicking around.