Assessment 5 Instructions: Using Math in Everyday Life

Application of Math in Every day life.

Reflect on the material you have learned in Assessments 1-4 and how it applies to your personal and/or professional life.

Introduction

It's one thing to solve math problems for a quiz, it is quite another thing to take those skills and use them to solve problems in your real life. Applying math skills to daily life is a large part of why we learn these skills in the first place. In this assessment, you will have the opportunity to practice translating what you have learned to three topics you are interested in that relate to a scenario you might encounter (or have encountered) in your personal or professional life.

Preparation

Review the material in this course and identify three different topics that you are interested in and that relate to a scenario you might encounter (or have encountered) in your personal or professional life. To do this, review the material covered in the resources and assessments to get ideas for applying the material to everyday life problems.

For example, here is a scenario using linear equations (Chapter 7 of the text): 

Problem: Suppose you have $15,000 in a savings account to pay for your children's education and you contribute $225 a month to it. How many months will it take for the balance to reach $30,000?

Solution: The balance y follows the linear equation y = 15000 + 225x, where x is the number of months. So, you need to solve the equation 30000 = 15000 + 225x. Subtracting 15000 from both sides gives 15000 = 225x. Dividing by 225 gives x = 15000/225 = 66.666 . . . , so you will need 67 months (or 5 years and 7 months) to reach $30,000.

Below are some resources to assist with writing:

• You may wish to review Capella's Writing Process page for an overview of the writing process. Following each of these stages will help you write a strong, clear, and organized presentation.
• You may see the Writing Strategies information in the Capella Writing Center for more on outlining

Instructions

In a Word document, write 2–3 paragraphs for each of the three topics. For each topic:

• Explain briefly the real-world situation to which it applies.
• State the problem. Which question should be answered?
• Explain the solution. What are the mathematical steps necessary to solve the problem?

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain organizational strategies that can be applied to the field of mathematics.
  • State the problem to be solved.
• Competency 2: Use basic arithmetic and algebra to solve real world quantitative problems.
  • Explain how the problem can be solved.
• Competency 4: Apply in text the standard writing conventions for the discipline, including structure, voice, person, tone, and citation formatting.
  • Describe the real-world situation for each topic.