US Circle Radius Population Challenge
DirectionsThe object of this quiz is to adjust each circle’s radius so it contains the target population shown at the right. 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 adjustable circle of radius 100 miles to start. Adjust the circle’s radius by dragging it until it contains the target number of people shown – this target will be between 100K and 25 million people. Then click submit. You are scored on how close your circle’s population is to the target. 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.
Quiz Takers
New quiz type – let me know your thoughts!
Great concept.
Love this one
This is great! Just to clarify, if the circle overlaps Canada or Mexico, those populations aren’t counted?
Correct – I’ve added a note in description.
I’ve gotten hooked playing these, but the more I more difficult the quizzes. Ive been able to get over 800 points a few times, but now I do good to get 700 because I’m getting these small totals over large metropolitan areas and that is so difficult to do because there’s such a variance in density in big cities. You can have areas where there’s big apartment complexes and then areas where there’s parks and nature areas. So the range can be 30000+ per square. mile in one part of the city and maybe 2000 in another part. That is quite a difference. It’s much easier when you get like a total of 22 million over the middle of Alabama and the radius of that circle I know has to be a lot more than the whole state of Alabama, probably most or all of Georgia, Mississippi, and part of Florida.
One of my favorite quizzes on here. My only thing I can think of to make it better is to add 4 more points on the circle to drag it out. I got a tract in hawaii with 15 mil target population, so I had to zoom out a ton to adjust it.
Very cool quiz type. I presume that it would be difficult to impossible to have the map show population density per census tract after finishing (particularly of areas just inside your circle if you were too large – just outside your circle if you were too small), but it would be a neat visual if possible.
Yeah that’s a good idea, maybe I’ll add soon. Shouldn’t be difficult.