What do you think?
Rate this book
Real-Life Math: Everyday Use of Mathematical Concepts
What does this have to do with real life? is a question that plagues mathematics teachers across America, as students are confronted with abstract topics in their high school mathematics courses. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics emphasizes the importance of making real world connections in teaching mathematics so that learning new content is meaningful to students. And in meeting NCTM national standards, this invaluable book provides many insights into the many connections between mathematics applications and the real world. Nearly 50 math concepts are presented with multiple examples of how each is applied in everyday environments, such as the workplace, nature, science, sports, and even parking. From logarithms to matrices to complex numbers, concepts are discussed for a variety of mathematics courses,
• algebra
• geometry
• trigonometry
• analysis
• probability
• statistics
• calculus
In one entry, for example, the authors show how angles are used in determining the spaces of a parking lot. When describing exponential growth, the authors demonstrate how interest on a loan or credit card increases over time. The concept of equations is described in a variety of ways, including how business managers estimate how many hours it takes a certain number of employees to complete a task, as well as how a to compute a quarterback's passing rating. Websites listed at the end of each entry provide additional examples of everyday math for both students and teachers.
• algebra
• geometry
• trigonometry
• analysis
• probability
• statistics
• calculus
In one entry, for example, the authors show how angles are used in determining the spaces of a parking lot. When describing exponential growth, the authors demonstrate how interest on a loan or credit card increases over time. The concept of equations is described in a variety of ways, including how business managers estimate how many hours it takes a certain number of employees to complete a task, as well as how a to compute a quarterback's passing rating. Websites listed at the end of each entry provide additional examples of everyday math for both students and teachers.
- GenresMathematics
Hardcover
First published July 30, 2002
3 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 12, 2020
Mostly Real-Life Math is a collection of the same old uninspired "real world" problems you find in every single math textbook ever published. I can't believe Glazer got paid to write this. I am going to provide an incomplete list of examples of math in "real life" from this book that I know appear in textbooks I've used as a teacher. Often, I have seen them in multiple textbooks.
1) Ellipses used in satellite dishes, car headlights, solar heaters, cables on a bridge, studying acoustics in elliptical rooms, and elliptical orbits
2) Counting problems in possible license plates and lock combinations
3) Exponential decay in the depreciation of car values, the half-life of elements, and the cooling of something hot in a cool room (although, to his credit, I think my textbook used pizza from the oven instead of a hot cup of coffee!)
4) Perimeter of a frame needed for a picture and the perimeter of a high school track
5) Proportions used for a scale map
6) Pythagorean theorem used to find the distance from home to second on a baseball field and to find the distance to the horizon from a lighthouse or airplane
7) Quadratic functions to maximize profit or area
8) Triangle trigonometry used to find the height of a flagpole, to find the angle a boat needs to turn, to measure cloud height, and to measure the height of a mountain
9) Vectors to represent two people pulling a wagon or a plane flying with a crosswind
10) Temperature conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius
The standard deviation section was pretty good, I suppose. Honestly, I can't think of anything else positive to say. I guess, there were often nice lists if you just wanted to list "real world" uses for some topic, but more often than not you were not provided with any elaboration or explanation on how the math would be used in that field or type of problem.
Sheesh.
1) Ellipses used in satellite dishes, car headlights, solar heaters, cables on a bridge, studying acoustics in elliptical rooms, and elliptical orbits
2) Counting problems in possible license plates and lock combinations
3) Exponential decay in the depreciation of car values, the half-life of elements, and the cooling of something hot in a cool room (although, to his credit, I think my textbook used pizza from the oven instead of a hot cup of coffee!)
4) Perimeter of a frame needed for a picture and the perimeter of a high school track
5) Proportions used for a scale map
6) Pythagorean theorem used to find the distance from home to second on a baseball field and to find the distance to the horizon from a lighthouse or airplane
7) Quadratic functions to maximize profit or area
8) Triangle trigonometry used to find the height of a flagpole, to find the angle a boat needs to turn, to measure cloud height, and to measure the height of a mountain
9) Vectors to represent two people pulling a wagon or a plane flying with a crosswind
10) Temperature conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius
The standard deviation section was pretty good, I suppose. Honestly, I can't think of anything else positive to say. I guess, there were often nice lists if you just wanted to list "real world" uses for some topic, but more often than not you were not provided with any elaboration or explanation on how the math would be used in that field or type of problem.
Sheesh.
Displaying 1 of 1 review