 2. Math at Work
Begin Date: November 1
End Date: Open throughout duration of project.
Summary:
Students interview different professional people,ie; folks
with jobs (including homemakers) and find out how they use math in
their fields...to help show that the math you learn now *will* be relevant
to your future. Interviews would be shared on the list.
MATH IN CAREERS
from Manheim Township in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
==============================================
Good Afternoon from Lancaster, PA.
The following are my student's interviews from activity #2 in math around us.
The following 18 interviews are from 6th graders from Manheim Township in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We have found out there their are many different jobs that use math skills on a daily bases. We hope you enjoy our interviews. :-)Mrs. Cox
#1
I chose to write about my mom because she uses math throughout her everyday career as a homemaker. I found out that math is involved in many parts of her life.
1.Do you use math to figure out your family's meals?
Yes, for example, I may need a cookbook and need to know measurements and how to adjust those numbers for my needs.
2.Do you use math in taking care of your kids?
Yes, almost everyday. Some examples would be helping with homework, especially math, or just counting lunch money.
3.Do you use math away from home?
Yes for example, I would be at the store, paying for an item and making sure I have the correct change.
Emily W. - 6th grade - Lancaster, PA
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#2
I interviewed my mom Lori, who is a chemist. She makes sure that if the drugs are okay to use. I chose her because she uses math in her career.
1. How does your job being a chemist involves math?
When you test drugs, you have to calculate to get the results.
2. How many things do you do that involves math? Name some.
More than 5 things. She has to calculate how much sample weight you need and how much solvent you need. Also how much time you need to run the tests.
3.What kind of math do you need? Addition, Subtraction?
She uses addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions.
Yannan D.-6th grade-Lancaster, PA
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#3
The person I interviewed was my mom. She sews clothing for a company as a job and cooks and shops for the family.
Question 1:
Q: How do you use math for a living?
A: I use it for sewing, cooking, shopping ( grocery ), the bank, driving to work, etc.
Question 2:
Q: When do you use subtraction?
A: To find how much change I get back when grocery shopping.
Question 3:
Q: Do you use math for anything else?
A: Yes. When cooking I use fractions. Example: I would use i and 1/4 cup of rice.
Anly L.-6th grade- Lancaster PA
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#4
The person I chose to interview is Mr. John K., my dad. He is a watch maker and jeweler. I chose my dad because I Iike to help him when he makes jewelry. He has shown me how to read the millimeter gauge and how to weigh stones.
1)DO YOU USE MATH WHEN YOU MAKE JEWELRY?
YES, when I make a ring bigger, I have to know how big a piece of gold or silver I need to make the ring the right size. Since the metals can be expensive you do not want waste it . I us millimeters to figure this out. I also use math to figure out the weight of a stone. I can estimate the weight of the stone by measuring the proportions of the stone. The weigh in carrot weight.
2)HOW ELSE DO YOU USE MATH AT WORK?
At work I must figure out angles and degrees so they are synchronized. The gear train must not bind. If parts are not balanced, the watch will not run properly.
3)DOES MATH EFFECT YOUR LIFE?
Yes, I have to make sure I don't spend more money then I make. I have to figure out a monthly budget so I have money to pay bills.
Jeremy K. - 6th grade - Lancaster, PA
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#5
I interviewed my dad. My dad works at St. Joseph Hospital, as a pharmacist.
Q. Do you use multiplication in your job?
A. Yes he does
Ex. 2 tablets a day for 10 days would be 10x2=20 tablets
Q. What types of math do you use in your job?
A. He uses addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, ratio, fractions, comparison, and percentages etc.
Q. Do you use measuring in your work
A. Yes he does
Ex. He measures 88 ml of water to mix amoxicillin suspension
Marc C.- 6th- Lancaster, PA
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#6
The person I decided to interview was my mom. She uses math when she does bills at home and at work where she is a real estate agent.
#1 Question: What are some of the ways you use math each day?
Answer: Qualifying buyers, calculating closing costs for Buyers and Sellers, calculating mortgage payments, and deciding on an advertising budget are some of the ways I use math each day.
#2 Question: How do you use math when you qualify buyers?
Answer: The mortgage amount that one can qualify for is a percentage of their income including all revolving debt. The total of the mortgage payment and all revolving debt can usually be no more than 36% of the total income for each month.
#3 Question: Do you think that math is important in your career?
Answer:YES!
In conclusion I found out that I DO NOT want to be a real estate agent.
Patrick L. - 6th grade - Lancaster, PA
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#7
I interviewed my dad's friend. He is an engineer in a company that manufactures construction equipment. Basically what made me choose this person is that an engineer does a tremendous amount of math daily.
Q: Do you do math in your head, or would you have to do it on paper, or calculator?
A: I would first do it in my head then on computer, and calculator.
Q: Do you use math only at work, or do you use it outside in life also?
A: I use math everywhere in life. Life is senseless without math.
Q: How does math help you at work?
A: Math helps me at work by letting me calculate dimensions for different parts. And also helps assemblers in the shop when they have problems with wrongly fabricated parts.
Maciej S. -6th grade - Lancaster, PA
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#8
I interviewed my Dad. My Dad is a medical sales associate for Zimmer, a subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb. He provides orthopedic implants for total joint replacements to local hospitals and surgeons.
Q: What are some ways in your career that you use math?
A: One way is I have to record mileage driven each day.
Q: How do you do that?
A: I record the mileage in the morning when I start the day and then I record the mileage at the end of the day. I then subtract the beginning mileage from the end mileage to find the miles driven that day.
Q: What is the importance of recording mileage?
A: I must record total business miles driven each year for tax purposes.
Andrea D. - 6th grade - Lancaster, PA
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#9
For my interview I decided to interview my mom. She is a therapist and works at Life Span Psychological Services. She uses math by calculating grades on tests, reading a clock to find out how much time she has to do everything, and to figure out how much time she has to do everything, and to figure out the amount of medicine someone has to take. The reason I chose my mom is that I know she works hard at her job and I know she uses math often even when she's not working.
Q - What are to ways you use math in your work as a therapist?
A - Adding up test scores and structuring my time.
Q - What is the most important way you use math in your job?
A - Making sure people take their medicine correctly by finding out how much they need.
Q - what is the situation that comes up the most that causes you to use math?
A - Making sure my appointments with patients begin and end at the right time by reading the clock.
Rob R. - Grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
______________________________________________________________
#10
The person I interviewed was Marianne, my mom. My mother is a writer and an editor who specializes in writing activities for children to use with the internet.I chose her, because sometimes she writes math activities for young children.
1.How often do you use math in your average work day?
I use math several times a day, more if I am writing a math activity for young students.
2.What ways is math used at your job?
Besides using math when I write a math activity, I use math to figure out how many printed pages i can allot for the book manuscript I'm working on. Whenever possible, books are printed on multiples of 16 called signatures, because that's the best use of the paper. I try hard to have my pages come out to be exact multiples of 16, such as 32, 48, 64, 80, and so on. If you don't come out with an exact multiple of 16, the cost of printing goes up, and you also waste paper. Paper, especially when you're printing thousands of books, gets very expensive and can cost thousands of dollars. You don't want to waste a bit!
3. What kind of math do you use most at work?
I use addition, division and multiplication the most for figuring out the number of pages I can allot for a book.
Charlotte C. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#11
The person I interviewed was my dad, Charlie. He works for Frito -Lay. Heās one of their salesmen. My dad delivers snacks to the stores.
1. When do you use math when you're working?
I use math all day long, like when I'm loading my truck, checking my orders, and bringing the products into the stores.
2. How are you using math when youāre checking your orders?
I count my cases and make sure they sent me what I ordered.
3. How important is math to know in your job?
Without it, I would not have a job.
Donny B. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#12
I interviewed my mom for this assignment. My mother works in the accounting department of Lancaster Newspapers. She has been working with accounting for 26 years. She uses math everyday for all types of work assignments that have to do with her job.
1. What types of math calculations do you do?
All types. I do budgeting, which uses a lot of percentages and lots of just basic math, adding, subtracting, multiplication and division. My computer and calculator help me a great deal in this area.
2. Do you think the math you learned while you were in school helped in your career decision?
Math was not my favorite subject in school. I started working in retail and got interested in accounting while working on my second job.
3. How do you use math other than in your job?
I use math when I do some things at home. An example would be measurements in cooking and measuring cleaning solutions.
Andrew K. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#13
I chose to interview my dad. He is a psychologist. I chose him because I knew that he had to score and interpret tests and I figured he would use math in other ways too.
1. On average, about how many times do you use math each day?
About 10-12 times.
2. What is one way you use addition each day?
To add client charges.
3. What is one way you use subtraction each day?
To make adjustments on client charges.
Marshal M.-grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
________________________________________________________________
#14
I interviewed my dad because he is vice president of Commercial Property Management at Clabell Management. He manages Granite Run and five other industrial parts like that. He uses math every day at work to make money for his customers.
1. What is one way you use math at work?
I use math in budgeting, figuring out how much money the company is going to make.
2. What is the most complicated math you do?
Figuring out the net present value of a dollar.
3. Do you ever use subtraction?
Of course! I use subtraction to subtract expenses from income to find out profits.
Mike F. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#15
I have chosen my dad, Joe, to interview. He works as a carpenter and an excavator for Flyway Excavating. When my dad does preparation for work at home he usually is using his calculator and doing estimates for future jobs. Even when he is doing carpentry around our house, he always uses rulers, calculators and math on paper to help with a project.
Q: Are numbers a big part of your job?
A. Basically every thing I do in my job involves numbers. There are on job specifications, blue prints, my calculator, my ruler and on the time cards that I fill out. Q: Do you use the metric system? A. No, I mainly use the English system of feet and inches (not meters.)
Q: What tools do you use that require using math?
A. My slide ruler, foot rule, calculator, laser, transit, protractor and my wrenches all require a math ability.
Jackie A. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#16
I've interviewed my mom, Coral, to see what she thinks about math because she is the one who pays the bills and shops and cooks. I asked her the following questions:
Q: How do you use math while you cook?
A: When I cook I usually have to reduce or multiply the ingredients so there's enough food for the family.
Q: How do you use math when you shop?
A: I have to add the prices to find the total or subtract the total from the amount of money I have.
Q: How do you use math when you pay the bills?
A: When I get a lot bills I add them up to see what I have to pay as a total.
Anthony P. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#17
My dad is an electrician. He works with wires and works with other electrical equipment. I chose to interview him because he uses math every day at work.
Q: What is one way you use math every day at work?
A: One of the ways I use math every day at work is to determine the size of wires.
Q: Do you use fractions at work?
A: Yes, most drill bits are sized in fractions and I also use fractions when I calculate things.
Q: What do you normally use more often, fractions, or addition and subtraction problems?
A: Both, because every fraction problem includes an addition or subtraction problem too.
Jason H. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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#18
I chose my mom to interview. She is a small business owner. I choose her because she is the one person I know that uses the most math in their career.
Q. On average, how many hours a week do you work with math?
A. Well, most everything I do involves math. If I were to say how many hours I work only with math, I'd say around 15 hours a week.
Q. Why do you think math is so important in your career?
A. Using math in my career enables me to assist my clients and track their growth throughout the year. And that is valuable information for the business owners I work with. Mathematics computations are used similarly in my own business-on a day to day basis. Again, this information is valuable and critical and has to be accurate.
Q. Do you like working with math, or would you rather not?
A. I do enjoy working with numbers, and that's a good thing! Everything in our society revolves around some kind of math.
I hope you enjoyed reading and learning about my mom. I sure appreciate all the math my mom has to know to own her business successfully!
Jennifer F. - grade 6 - Lancaster, PA
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THE END
This page is posted by Richard Turnbull, and was last updated on Nov. 12,1997.
Send comments to
rturnbul@nwrain.com
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