How ………………. use Maths

Compartido por Raquel San Juan:

How ………………. use Maths

In this activity students work in groups of two or three. I will give each group a text in which maths are brought to live. (I have selected two of them, but every group has a different one. They all are taken from the web site: www.doodlemaths.com )

The activity has three parts:

1.   They have to read the first part of the text “how …… use maths” and to look for the words they don´t understand.

2.   They have to answer the questions of the second part of the text: “curriculum links”. I don´t give the answers to the students until the end of the activity.

3.   They have to explain to the class the text and the maths used in that job. We discuss the answers given to the second part of the text and the rest of the students can make contributions. Then I give them the answers given in the text and we compare them.

How biologists use maths 

Biologists use maths to study lots of things, including animals. By collecting data and using statistics to analyse it, they can investigate how changes in the environment can impact the survival of various creatures - such as meerkats!

Hi Nino! Please could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your job?

I am Nino and I am a biologist. My main interest is the behaviour of animals and how they work together as populations. We call this field population ecology of animals, and an important part is finding out how changes in the environment can affect the survival of these animals.

For this purpose, I collect data on wild animals in the field and analyse this data using mathematical methods. The species I am researching at the moment are meerkats and sturgeon fish.

Why do you think maths is important?

Maths is used in a lot of different fields of science. This is because when we look at things, they don’t always make sense on their own. By using maths as well, we can find out if the things that we observe in nature follow certain rules. This type of mathematics is called statistics, where we find out information (collect data) and then analyse it (look for patterns).

How do you use maths in your job?

I use mathematics and statistics to understand what makes meerkats behave in a particular way. For example, I observe meerkats and the weather, so that I can calculate whether meerkats have fewer babies when it rains less and it gets warmer.

This is really important for us to know because our climate is changing and we need to understand how we can protect animals.

Do you have any advice for someone who may find some parts of maths tricky?

If there’s a part of maths that you find hard, try practising all of the steps. If you’re struggling to work out how to find 5/8 of a number, you might want to try practising finding 1/2 of a number, or 1/8.

The more you practise, the better you get to know the rules and the easier you find it. When you find the right answer to a problem you’ve been struggling with, it’s very rewarding and you learn to love it! Maths can be fun!

What’s your favourite number and why?

My favourite number is 3 because that is the average number of babies a meerkat has in its litter.

If a school wanted a biologist to visit their school, what advice would you give them?

You may want to contact your nearest university and find out if any research scientists would be willing to come in to school, or a parent may know somebody.

The research scientist could give a small presentation about their topic that is easy to understand and the children should be asked a lot of questions, for example, how they would use mathematics to solve a problem in the scientist’s field.

Thank you, Nino!

Curriculum links (*I don´t give the answers to the students until the end of the activity to compare with their own answers)

How do biologists use maths?

Statistics: One of the biggest parts of Nino’s job is to be out in the field (that means he is out in the real world rather than sitting in an office) collecting data on the animals he is studying. A lot of this is tracking the meerkats and recording the information. Nino will need to use statistics to analyse it and look for patterns, or trends. He may also need to be able to find averages of the data he collects in order to draw conclusions.

Measure: Nino has to be able to measure the amount of rainfall to see whether this affects the meerkats. He may also have to be able to measure things such as the quantity of food available to them, or the distance that they cover, and may need to convert between metric measurements (millimetres, centimetres, grams, kilograms etc) and imperial measurements (ounces, pounds, feet, yards etc).

Number: While he is observing meerkats, Nino may have to be quite fast with his mental maths. Because animals move quickly, he might need to count them before they disappear. This means that he needs to be able to count in multiples, and he also needs to be able to add or subtract those numbers in his head. He may also need to multiply or divide, especially if he’s looking at litters of meerkats and making predictions.

Fractions and percentages: When Nino has finished measuring, counting, recording and analysing his data, he has to write a report which tells people what he has found. He might use fractions and percentages in his report to explain trends. For example, one fact about meerkats is that they live in groups (called mobs) of between three to 50, and it’s usually one male and one female meerkat who have 90% of the baby meerkats in the whole group!

How pilots use maths 

Pilots use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to help them work at key calculations, such as working out how much fuel they have and how much runway there is to land on.

Hi Hannah! Please could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your job?

My name is Hannah and I’m a commercial airline pilot. I’ve wanted to fly since I was seven years old and did everything I could to become a pilot. This meant a lot of studying, as the most important subject for flying is maths.

Why do you think maths is important?

Maths is very important in flying as we use lots of numbers. You need to be good at problem solving and be able to do lots of calculations quickly and correctly.

How do you use maths in your job?

Pilots use a lot of maths everyday. We have to make sure we take enough fuel for the flight; work out how much the plane weighs so we’re not too heavy to take off and land; decide how fast to fly; how far we need to descend and when to slow down; and how much runway we need to land on. A lot of this is straightforward arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Do you have any advice for someone who may find some parts of maths tricky?

Times tables are very helpful. They make maths a lot easier, as you don’t have to work it out if you know if off by heart! But the best way to make maths simpler is to practise: if you do it every day it slowly becomes easier until you can do it in your sleep!

What’s your favourite number and why?

343! The speed of sound is 343 metres per second … and some planes can go more than 3 times as fast as that!

If a school wanted to ask a pilot to visit their school, what advice would you give them?

Most airlines have a careers department who arrange school visits and presentations. Air Cadets and The Air League provide older children with the opportunity to experience flying and gain valuable skills tailored towards a career in aviation. 

Thank you Hannah!

Curriculum links

Number: Hannah needs to use a lot of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to calculate things like how much fuel to take (too much fuel would make the plane too heavy and slow it down and too little would mean they couldn’t get to their destination!) and to work out how far they have left to go, so she can decide whether they need to go faster.

Geometry: Geometry is also needed to plan routes and keep the aircraft on course. Hannah needs to think about angles and be able to work out how many degrees she needs to turn the plane in order to land on a runway – you don’t want to miss that! Angles are also really important for landing and take off, deciding how much the nose of the plane has to tip up or down so that the wheels or the back of the plane don’t scrape along the ground.

Measure (time and money): Hannah also needs to be able to work out time and money problems – as a pilot, you’re always flying to different countries and need to be able to switch between different currencies. She also needs to be able to calculate the length of the flight and what time they will arrive so that she can update her passengers.