Before studying on the Discovery Mathematics module, I never really put any thought into just how much mathematics was in my everyday life!
From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep I will have encountered mathematics several times throughout the day. Waking up, the first thing I do is check outside the window to see what the weather is like, okay so most of you are saying “Where is the maths there?” logical thinking falls under the category of mathematics. You assess the weather in order to dress appropriately. Making a cup of tea in order to function for the rest of the day involves mathematical concepts such as volume, measurements and temperature. Making sure there is enough water in the kettle to fill your gigantic mug, pouring just the right of milk for it to be the right temperature to drink straight away for the limited time on offer a you slept in!
Driving to University involves using logical thinking, direction, journey time and speed, all of these involve having mathematical skills in order to get to university on time. Another factor involved in driving is making sure you have enough fuel to get you from A – B. This involves knowing how many miles to the tank you get and knowing how far you need to travel! Mathematics is everywhere!!!!
Cooking tea or making a meal is full of mathematically ideas and concepts. Measuring the water out correctly for boiling pasta, knowing the volume needed in order for the pasta to cook perfectly. Cooking times for chicken, salmon etc … knowing the temperature to cook the food at. Timing each part of the meal in order for it all to come together on the plate at the same time and at the same temperature.
Going shopping is possibly one of the daily jobs most of us to and it is the one that is probably full of the most mathematically concepts. Who thought needing a bottle of shampoo could be so mathematically challenging. You want to make sure you are getting your moneys worth so you need to check the volume of shampoo you are getting and for what price. You need to check whether there are any deals on and check if the deal price is better than the standard price. How many washes will the shampoo cover? All these questions involve having the mathematically knowledge in order to save you money and this can apply to most products in a supermarket.
Lastly, going to bed is quite the maths challenge, you need to set your alarm the next day so you do not sleep in for university/work/life this involves know what time you need to leave to get to your destination on time, once you know that then you need to know how long it takes you to get ready in the morning and then once you know that, you need to work out how long it actually takes you to crawl out your bed in the morning, after all these factors have been accounted for you can then set your alarm for the correct time!!
Mathematics is really everywhere in our lives, there is no escaping it! Therefore it is vital that society understand its importance and value the place for it in our national curriculum. So many people, including myself before this unit and so unaware of how much mathematics they actually carry out on a daily basis, its amazing!
