Sheet B (Fairness and Equity)

prepared by:

Joseph Malkevitch
Department of Mathematics and Computing
York College (CUNY)
Jamaica, New York 11451

email: malkevitch@york.cuny.edu
web page: http://www.york.cuny.edu/~malk



1. The thesaurus of the word processor in Appleworks gives the following synonyms for "equity:"

evenness
justice
impartiality
fairness

a. What are the differences in connotations of these words?

b. Are there any other words that you would add to this list as being synonyms for the work "equity?"

2. a. What does it mean to talk about a "fair coin" or a "fair die?"

b. How might one test if a coin was "fair?"

3. Suppose that two siblings are arguing about the ownership of a compact audio disc. They can not agree on who should have the disc. Would it be fair to toss a fair coin to decide who to give the disc to? What other ways might there be to fairly decide what do in this situation?

4. In what situations do you feel that it would be fair to use some kind of randomization device to give some piece of "property" that is being disputed to one of the parties to the dispute?

5. Do you think governments (a country, state, or city) should run lottery systems? What are some gambling or lottery systems that are legal in New York States?