The Mathematics of Everyday Life
426
The Mathematics of Everyday Life
426Hardcover
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781633883871 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 08/21/2018 |
| Pages: | 426 |
| Sales rank: | 522,292 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.60(d) |
About the Author
Alfred S. Posamentier has published over sixty books in the area of mathematics and mathematics education, including, most recently, The Joy of Mathematics (with with Robert Geretschlaeger, Charles Li, and Christian Spreitzer) and The Circle: A Mathematical Exploration beyond the Line (with Robert Geretschlaeger). After having been on the faculty of the City College of the City University of New York for forty years, where he was a professor of mathematics education and dean of the School of Education, he subsequently held the same positions at Mercy College, New York, for five years. He was also executive director for internationalization and sponsored programs at Long Island University, New York.Christian Spreitzer is a coauthor of The Joy of Mathematics (with Alfred Posamentier, Robert Geretschlaeger, and Charles Li). He teaches mathematics and physics at the University College of Teacher Education in Lower Austria and at the University of Vienna. He was educated as a mathematician and a physicist and received his master's degree from the University of Vienna. He has published research articles in peer-reviewed journals on mathematics as well as mathematics education.
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Introduction
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Mathematics of Everyday Life"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Alfred S. Posamentier.
Excerpted by permission of Prometheus Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction 11
Chapter 1 Historical High Points In The Development of Mathematical Applications 15
The Origin of Our Number Symbols 15
The Most Important Number in Mathematics 17
The Famous Fibonacci Numbers 20
Arithmetic in Ancient Egypt 21
Where the Terms Related to Our Clock Evolve 28
A Minute History of Timekeeping 28
Babylonian Mathematics and the Sexagesimal System 29
Babylonian Minutes and Seconds Have Survived to This Day 33
Roman Numerals Are Everywhere around Us 34
Mathematics on the Calendar 39
How We Overlook Our Calendar 48
Chapter 2 Mathematics In Our Everyday Lives-Arithmetic Shortcuts and Thinking Mathematically 53
Arithmetic with the Numbers 9 and 11 54
How 9s Can Check Your Arithmetic 60
Rules for Divisibility 62
A Quick Method to Multiply by Factors of Powers of 10 68
Arithmetic with Numbers of Terminal Digit 5 69
Multiplying Two-Digit Numbers Less Than 20 71
Mental Arithmetic Can Be More Challenging-but Useful! 73
Arithmetic with Logical Thinking 74
Using the Fibonacci Numbers to Convert Kilometers to and from Miles 75
Thinking "Outside the Box" 79
Solving Problems by Considering Extremes 82
The Working-Backward Strategy in Problem Solving 86
Chapter 3 Mathematical Appearances and Applications In Everyday-Life Problems 93
Shopping with Mathematical Support 93
Successive Percentages 94
Raising Interest! 100
The Rule of 72 104
Paper Sizes and the Root of All ISO 106
Comparing Areas and Perimeters 110
Mathematics in Home Construction 113
The Perfect Manhole Cover 117
Design Your Own Coffee-Cup Sleeve! 124
How to Optimally Wrap a Present 128
Chapter 4 Probability, Games, and Gambling 135
Friday the Thirteenth! 135
Unexpected Birthday Matches 137
Selecting Clothes 141
Playing Cards, a Counterintuitive Probability 142
Mathematics in Poker 144
Mathematical Logic of Tic-Tac-Toe 150
The Monty Hall Problem 154
Business Applications 158
Mathematics of Life Insurance 163
The Most Misunderstood Average 168
What We Need to Know about Averages 170
Comparing Measures of Central Tendency 172
Chapter 5 Sports and Games-Explained Mathematically 181
The Best Angle to Throw a Ball 181
Optimizing Your Shot at Soccer 187
A Game of Angles 192
Playing Billiards Cleverly 201
Mathematics on a Bicycle 206
The Spirograph Toy 212
Chapter 6 The World and Its Nature 225
Measures of and on the Earth 225
Navigating the Globe 229
What Is Relativity? 232
Coloring a Map 233
Crossing Bridges 237
Mathematics in Nature 243
The Male Bee's Family Tree 244
Fibonacci Numbers in the Plant World 246
The Pine Cone and Others 247
Leaf Arrangement-Phyllotaxis 251
The Fibonacci Numbers on the Human Body 255
The Geometry of Rainbows 258
Chapter 7 Appearances of Mathematics In Art and Architecture 275
Golden Ratio Sightings 276
Displaying a Watch 281
Applications in Art 284
Perspectivity in Art 296
Numbers in Art 305
Viewing a Statue Optimally 309
The Most Overlooked Curve 312
The One-Sided Belt-the Möbius Strip 315
Chapter 8 The Technology Around Us-From A Mathematical Perspective 319
A Fascination with the Clock 319
The Mathematics of Paper Folding 322
Building a Skewed Tower 328
Whispering Galleries 334
Looking inside a Flashlight 345
Coffee with Caustics 351
Green Traffic Lights All the Way 356
Safety in Numbers 365
The ISBN System 376
How the Global Positioning System (GPS) Works 381
Acknowledgments 391
Notes 393
Index 401