Did your math professors ever say you would be using math every day in your life? Guess what, they were right.
If you take a step back and look, you will notice that more people use different math concepts more often than you would think.
News centers use it to calculate statistics. Drivers do calculations in their heads to figure out how soon they can get to somewhere at their current pace.
Marketers use different mathematical concepts to predict which direction sales would go. And architects use math to measure the ideal dimensions of a building.
Down below are 5 examples of everyday scenarios you may find yourself in. These scenarios will make you thankful that you’ve gotten the chance to learn math when you did.
1. Going Out to Shop for Groceries
The grocery store is a prime location for real-world math problems. Most people calculate how much they can afford with the money they have on their person before they enter the grocery store. Others calculate on the go.
Math is also used when you decide between 2 different sizes of a brand. You calculate the difference in weight or volume on the label and the prices that they come in. You often use this when you decide which choice between the two is worth spending on.
You also use math when you weigh certain things on a scale like meat, vegetables, or fruit. You use basic math to add their total while you weigh them. Often, you do these calculations at your home. You figure out how much food you’ll need to last for the week or so.
Another instance when you use math in this scenario is when you have coupons. You do some simple calculations for big, general discounts. Sometimes, you also do more complex calculations involving fractions in your head for more specific discounts.
Often, people calculate what their budget is before going grocery shopping and they make a different calculation when they have coupons for certain things.
By the end of the day, you end up counting how much you will spend on your items. This is often followed by you doing math in your head to make sure you get the exact amount of change at the cashier.
2. Cooking and Baking
You may not realize it, but you use math more often in the kitchen than in other parts of the house.
Recipes rely on precise measurements when you’re preparing them. Sometimes, there is a mix of measuring units in a recipe.
You may find that one item on the recipe demands that you measure one item in grams while the other is in kilograms. If you have only one size of measuring cup, you do calculations in your head to determine how many measurements you’ll need in order to fill in the amount required by the recipe.
Sometimes, you need to make more complex conversions. A good example is when you don’t have any measuring instruments for fluids. You’ll need to rely on their metric equivalents to get precise volumes for the recipe.
One more example is when the recipe is in Celsius and your oven is on Fahrenheit. It is a tricky conversion to make for those who don’t know to convert them. However, schools often give the formula of conversion for these units.
3. Budgeting, Investing and Paying Bills
You won’t survive for the month if you blow your budget in a single day. Planning a budget is, in essence, dividing your finances to last within a time period.
Basic math skills help you to add your total budget for the month. You then subtract how much bills will cost you in the budget. Then you divide the remaining funds for you to spend throughout the month.
Doing multiplications in your head is what most people do when deciding on investments. They calculate which is the best choice for them to invest in based on their calculations. An important skill to have if you ever decide on becoming a venture capitalist.
Speaking of paying bills, this does not only apply to the household. There are also that you pay in a restaurant or at a bar.
Managing and calculating your expenses in your head is a great way for you to avoid paying extra when you’re going out with friends.
Math is also used when you and your friends decide to split the bill. You divide the total among all participants to make sure everyone gets a fair price.
4. Time Management
Math in the real world can be as subtle as time management. Mathematics is often used when you’re planning your day.
Deciding that you’ll go jogging for an hour so you’ll end up at a caf? where you can spend 45 minutes before heading home on time for a television show exhibits using math to manage your time. It also shows how you used math to calculate your travel time.
It’s also used when you’re planning something on a specific date. You’ll have a clear sense of how many days you have to prepare before the specified day arrives.
You use math most often when you have a big to-do list. You divide your tasks to fit the day from the moment you wake up.
Doing this gives you a clear idea on how long you’ll spend doing chores. Not only that, it helps you keep track of how much time you have left for the current task.
5. Going on a Diet
When you’re on a diet, it’s important for you to keep track of your calorie intake. You use math to count the calories of the food you’re about to eat and to see if you’ve exceeded your limit for the day.
There are certain diets that have a limit for the total amount of protein, carbs, fats, and minerals you can have in a day. Following these diets mean you have to measure the exact amount of each element and divide them for regular intake throughout the day.
You’ll also need to plan what foods can give you the required number of calories for each meal.
In doing this, you use factoring to calculate the total number of calories each food has. You need to do this if you want your diet to be successful.
Use More Math Concepts in Your Everyday Life
These scenarios using different math concepts should help you realize how much we use math in everyday life.
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