Saturday, January 23, 2010

Mathematics in Shopping

We were tasked to reflect on our use of mathematics during our shopping experience. Well, many factors come to mind in the process. First of all, I have three kids, one girl and two boys, ages 16, 15, and 5 respectively. They are on the top of my shopping list. I think of the number of items each of my kids needs for school and home. The youngest one still goes to the daycare, namely, Palomares Child Care Center, since he is a late baby and does not meet the cut-off date for the kindergarten age requirement. In any event, he has specific food for the daycare, along with baby wipes and other daycare necessities. He loves noodles, so we literally count how many days in the week he'll need his favorite food, since holidays don't count. If we have enough money, we stretch his food to 2 weeks. But, of course, we can't forget that he needs snacks, so we get his favorite crackers, cookies, and we try to throw in healthy snacks as well. Now with all the snacks, we must count at least 2 snacks for each day throughout the week, or maybe even for 2 weeks. It doesn't stop there, because we have the two oldest children who also have their favorite meals, such as spaghetti, ravioli, beefaroni, chicken, pizza, cheese, roast beef, cookies, cereal, milk, fruits, vegetables, and so much more! The bigger the kids get, the more they want to eat, so that means even more counting on our part, to ensure that they have enough food to eat during the week. Because they consume more food than the youngest one, we usually get a week's worth of food, and we'd be lucky if we have enough money to get an additional week's worth of food. We have to also add up how much their food costs, not including their baby brother's meals, baby wipes, etc. So what does all the math add up to? Well, it's over $150, that's for sure, and this doesn't include gassing the vehicles! That adds up even more in math figures. If I were to include the kids' tuition, that would be another astronomical figure, so I'll stop here, since the focus Don recommended was on "shopping." Now you have an insight on my mathematics experience with shopping on a weekly basis

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Mathematics Used In Chamorro Medicine

The focus of this is the Suruhana, as island residents sometimes seek the medicinal/spiritual powers of her when they fall ill. In my family the spiritual stories remain alive of my great grandmother, Antonia Chargualaf Nangauta, who served as the Suruhana (female herb doctor) of Malesso (Merizo). My father shared of how she would cure the sick by giving them herbs to eat or drink, or maybe even massage them. Yet he said that when she healed someone, the sickness imposed by the spirit would transfer to her, so she, herself would have to drink herbs to cure herself. He said that she often instructed those inflicted with sickness to visit the site where their illness began and ask for forgiveness for disturbing the spirits. Both of my parents reminded me that if I should ever enter the jungle to be careful not to disturb the taotaomo'na (ghost; people of before). They mentioned that I must ask for permission from the Guela yan Guelo (grandmother and grandfather) before I begin my travel, so that I may not get sick, pinched, get red marks, or even swell. Although the Suruhana is revered, my mother said that there aren't as many that can be found these days, for they too, grow of old age, just like my great grandmother, who has since passed away. Mathematics concepts that my great grandmother had to consider include the following: Amount of herbs used, type and texture of herbs used, amount of water to boil herbs, time of preparation of herbal medicine, number and pressure of massages used to heal, and length of massage therapy.

Mathematics in Sports

Although not always realized, mathematics plays a very important role in sports. Whether discussing a players statistics, a coaches formula for drafting certain players, or even a judges score for a particular athlete, mathematics are involved. Even concepts such as the likelihood of a particular athlete or team winning, a mere case of probability, and maintain equipment are mathematical in nature.

Let's begin by looking at the throwing of a basketball. Now, we can use the equation

to help figure out the velocity at which a basketball player must throw the ball in order for it to land perfectly in the basket. When shooting a basketball you want the ball to hit the basket at as close to a right angle as possible. For this reason, most players attempt to shoot the ball at a 45o angle. To find the velocity at which a player would need to throw the ball in order to make the basket we would want to find the range of the ball when it is thrown at a 45o angle. The formula for the range of the ball is

But since the angle at which the ball is thrown is 45o, we have

Maths in kitchen

Answer
Anytime you need to either expand or recude a recipe, you'll be using math in the kitchen. E.g., An original recipe lists these ingredients: 2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp oregano 1/4 cup milk 3 cloves garlic Serves 2 Let's say you need to serve 8 people this dish. Using proportions, you'll need to multiply this recipe by 8/2 = 4 times. Using a matrix 4 x [ 2/3 +1 +1/4+ 3 ] = 8/3+ 4+ 4/4 +12 = 2&2/3+ 4 +1+ 12 So now you know the new levels of each ingredient: 2-2/3 cups sugar 4 tsp oregano 1 cup milk 12 cloves garlic

Math in Cooking
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Math and the ability to tell time are essentials when it comes to cooking. In fact, all phases of cooking require some math, including meal planning, grocery shopping, food budgeting, baking, measuring ingredients, adjusting recipes, and storing and freezing food. Precision matters when it comes to adding and combining ingredients. While basic math comprehension may get you by in the kitchen, a thorough understanding of addition, subtraction, division, fractions, measurements and knowing how to make conversions are essentials for routine cooking and meal planning.

Math and the Food Budget

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If an individual makes $200 a week, and the following bills are due: $50 phone, $75 electric, and $20 or gas, that will leave $55 for groceries. Meals and necessities will have to be planned according to a budget of $55, which must include tax. Sponsored Links

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Calculators: Different Calculators For Every Situation - Free! Calculator.UtilityChest.com Math and Meal Planning
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Planning meals and making a grocery list demand basic math skills. Grocery store items may have to be doubled if a recipe is for four servings and eight servings are needed. The number of people being served will determine how recipes must be adjusted.

Math and Grocery Shopping

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Basic addition and subtraction are in order to stay within budget. Additionally, you can calculate the cost of items to be purchased and sales tax, you'll be able to adjust spending to take advantage of any sale items and specials.

Math and the Oven

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Baking requires the ability to tell time and how to determine cooking times. If 1 lb. of turkey meat requires 20 minutes of roasting time, how long will it take to cook an 18-lb. bird in a 325-degree F oven? You also must be able to read thermometers to determine cooking time.

Math and Stove Top Cooking

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In certain instances, stove top cooking time may need to be adjusted to accommodate a specific weight of food or type of meat for dinner. If you're making candy for dessert, you must also be able to read a thermometer.

Math and Measuring Ingredients

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While just about every task in the kitchen requires some type of math, measuring ingredients demands the most precision. If you're going to make chocolate chip cookies, you'll have to use both cups and spoons to measure out the ingredients. If the cookies are for a bake sale, then you'll want to double the recipe.

Read more: How Is Math Used in Cooking? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/howdoes_4899712_how-math-used-cooking.html#ixzz2146B2coG