Everyday Math Applications

Prompt

How can we apply learned mathematical concepts to everyday life?

Essential Skills & Concepts

• • Data analysis

  • Patterns and relationships

  • Problem-solving

  • 21st century skills (critical thinking,creativity, communication, initiative, information literacy)

  • Scale factors and proportions

Project Options

Choose one of the options below to find real-life connections to mathematics.

Option 1: When do Professional Athletes Burn Out?

Link to Full Instructions

Many people who are sports fans have a favorite team and a favorite athlete. Our favorite athlete usually has extraordinary athletic ability, but even these outstanding athletes eventually retire. Time takes its toll on all of us, even our favorite athletes. In this project you will find the average age at which your favorite athlete's performance started to decline.

Option 2: What if 150 People are Coming to Dinner?

Link to Full Instructions

Most people who cook know how to double or triple a recipe. But how do restaurants make a recipe for 150 people? In this project, you will take your favorite spaghetti recipe and adjust it so that you are able to feed 150 people. Also, you will calculate the cost of the ingredients for this gigantic meal.

Option 3: Planning our Diets to Reduce Fat Intake

Link to Full Instructions

People are often trying to maintain a healthy weight. There are probably dozens of different nutritional plans that help people maintain their weight, or lose weight or gain weight as needed. Some extreme methods involve fad diets while others involve complicated exercise equipment. A successful method of healthy weight maintenance combines exercise and nutrition management. Research in recent years indicates that a healthy nutrition plan includes following a low-fat diet. In this project, you will identify the fat content of many different foods. You will then create a low-fat nutritional menu consisting of breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner for a single day.

Option 4: Buying a Vehicle: How to Get the Best Value

Link to Full Instructions

People are always trying to get the best car for their money. Some people always buy new cars, and make monthly payments. Newer cars can sometimes cost as much as $50,000, or more! Older, used cars could cost as little as $100. Older and used vehicles tend to require more repairs but cost less to insure. In this project, you will try to determine what type of vehicle is generally the best value.

Option 5: How Much Would it Cost to Paint Your Living Room?

Link to Full Instructions

When we hire someone to paint our house, the cost can range from $500 to several thousand dollars. The paint is inexpensive, but the labor required is costly. That’s why painting an interior room in your house is a great DIY (“Do It Yourself”) project - you only pay for the paint, and you save money on labor! In this project you will play the role of a painting contractor, and prepare a price estimate of the cost to paint a room in your house.

Submission

You can submit your project via the Everyday Math Applications assignment in your grade's Google Classroom.