The following questions review the main ideas of this chapter. Write your answers to the...

The following questions review the main ideas of this chapter. Write your answers to the questions and then refer to the pages listed by number to make certain that you have mastered these ideas.

What is the apportionment problem? pg. 288 When apportioning House seats to states, how is the standard divisor calculated and interpreted? pgs. 288–289 What is the meaning of the standard quota? pg. 290

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Mathematically speaking, the apportionment problem is to determine a method for rounding a collection of numbers, some of which may be fractions, so that the sum of the numbers is unchanged. In the case of the House of Representatives, for example, the total number of representatives is fixed at 435. How many representatives should be assigned to a state based on its population? Suppose it is determined that a state should have one seat for every 500,000 persons and a certain state has a population of 2 million. If representation in the House is proportional to population, that state will be entitled to exactly four seats. By this same reasoning, a state with 750,000 persons should be entitled to 1.5 seats, which is impossible. Should that state be allotted one seat or two seats? Remember that the total number of seats must remain 435. Dealing with fractions like these is the basis of the apportionment problem.