4 Ways Math Skills Help Kids Solve Real-World Problems
Mathematics is a science that encompasses the logic of quantity, arrangement, and shape. It is the building block of many facets of life, including engineering, art, finance, and sports. It can even be used in our daily life.
Despite this, many students find math a hard subject, with some even whining that they won’t even be able to use it in real life. But this is far from true.
Math can help solve real-world problems in almost every aspect of life. Since it governs virtually everything, a good understanding of mathematics can help your child solve the greater problems they would encounter later in life.
The more abstract mathematical concepts may not always seem useful unless they choose a specific study like engineering. However, the underlying skills used in math, like logical thinking, taking risks, and solving problems, will prove to be helpful in resolving matters related to work, home, and living in general.
Whether it’s studying the most basic concepts or learning advanced mathematics, you must make sure that your child understands the need to learn math. Not sure how? Here are the four real-world problems that math can help solve:
1. Telling the Time
According to a study on residents of Oklahoma, four out of five children don’t know how to tell the time using analog clocks. This reflects the growing ignorance of the most basic uses of math in telling time.
While the skill may soon become unnecessary because of digital clocks and smart devices, learning math is still essential in telling time the traditional way. This can become useful in situations devoid of modern technology.
Fractions, in particular, can help your child read the hour, minute, and second hand of an analog clock. Even better, teach them all about the world clock, calendars, the different time zones, and the value of the thing that is considered as valuable as “gold” — time.
2. Balancing and Deciding on Finances
From counting money and balancing finances to making investment decisions, mathematics has a wide variety of uses in terms of finances. If your child starts throwing tantrums because they doesn’t want to do their math homework or study for their math test, give them the following scenarios to make them realize the subject’s importance in their life:
● Going grocery shopping
Grocery shopping is one of the most obvious examples of the use of math in the finance aspect of life. If your child has a broad knowledge of math – specifically multiplication, percentages, and estimation, they can help you do your grocery shopping without any problem.
For instance, you can have them calculateproduct prices on a per unit basis to determine which one is more cost-efficient. They can also determine how much you can save with percentage discounts in promos, not to mention calculating the estimated sum of all your purchases before you head to the checkout counter.
● Budgeting, making investments, and balancing finances
Aside from purchases, your child can also learn about allocating money and balancing finances with the help of math. While this may not be their responsibility yet, it is never too early to teach them how to budget the money they have in relation to the cost of the items they may need to buy.
Later, they will be able to make smarter and more balanced financial decisions that can help them avoid falling into debt. In fact, even the most basic math that children learn in school can prove to be very useful when it comes to making decisions about investing and even starting a business.
3. Measuring Ingredients
Cooking and baking are two more tasks that require the use of math skills in the real world. In fact, there seem to be more uses for math in the kitchen than anywhere else in the entire household. After all, recipes are really just step-by-step operations and mathematical algorithms wrapped in a mouthwatering package.
Not sure how to prove this to your child? Show them how pudding is made. If your child asks where in baking or cooking specifically, you can tell them about:
- How to measure ingredients accurately based on what’s stated in the recipe
- Dividing or multiplying fractions to adjust to varying amounts of ingredients than what a single batch requires
- Measurement (metric to US standard units) and temperature (Celsius to Fahrenheit) conversions
- Computing and adjusting cooking time for each item
- Understanding proportions and ratios
- Calculating the cooking time required per pound of the mixture
4. Risk-Free Traveling
Traveling may not seem too filled with math, but the truth is, the skill is crucial in avoiding risks when you go on a trip. From estimating the fuel amount necessary to get to your destination and back to planning for the distance you’ll travel, math will tag along anywhere you go.
Plus, the fundamentals of math can also aid in reading maps. Sure, map reading may soon become a lost art, with the GPS and Google Maps taking more people for a ride. But when the time comes that they need to travel at a time when there’s no Internet and no gadget, math skills will surely come in handy.
Math is Everywhere
Demonstrating how math can be beneficial to daily life can help your child understand why they need to learn the subject. While it may seem daunting at first, you can foster a love for math in your student by showing them the practical uses of arithmetic, fractions, and geometry.
