7 Fun Ways to use Math in Everyday Life

As a school subject, mathematics is not everyone’s cup of tea. There are those who love it and others who absolutely loathe it. It is fair to say that there are many people who don’t really appreciate the importance of different arithmetic applications. Whether you realize it or not, it applies to virtually every aspect of your life.

Here are seven fun ways to use arithmetic applications in everyday life:

#1 Decorating

If you really think about it, there are many measurements that you need to take before painting your wall or decorating it in any other way. For example, you might want to measure the surface area in square feet to ascertain how much paint you will require. If you are using a yardstick for the measurements, a bit of knowledge is required to convert the dimensions into meters or feet. Your counting ability should make all that fairly simple.

#2 Shopping

If you are given a 25 percent discount on a nice pair of shoes or jeans, you need to know how much you have to pay once that discount is applied. The same applies when there is a percentage of tax added to the price of any commodity. You don’t want to be running up to the cashier whenever you see anything that has to do with percentages. As long as you can do some quick arithmetic, you should be fine.

#3 Cooking

Just think about the many quick calculations you make while working in your kitchen. This is where fractions and conversions apply the most. If you need three tablespoons of sugar when you only have a soup spoon or a teaspoon you will need to adapt quickly and know how to convert a teaspoon into a tablespoon and vice versa. You might also need some quick arithmetic to know how many quarter cups of water make a full cup.  

#4 Playing video games

Calculations are not only applied in programming or coding of video games but also when playing as well. Without being able to calculate the trajectory of the different characters in a game like Angry Bird, you wouldn’t bee the top player in the game. Calculations are also involved in the creation of the different graphics.

#5 Travelling

How do you estimate how much fuel you need based on the speed and distance covered? Without the ability to calculate, you would have to guess a lot of things before a trip. You also need to ascertain how much you should pay in toll fees and how much pressure your tires need. Without these calculations, you can easily find yourself in the middle of a trip with an empty tank or flat tires.

#6 Gardening

Although it seems like a very mundane task, gardening still does require some counting skills. When planting seeds, you need to make rows or hoes and count them. There is also an element of measurement taking. Without knowing it, you are doing additions and subtractions as you go along.

#7 Planning vacations

Every time you plan a vacation or any other outing, you need to account for a few things. You ascertain how much time you have and how you are going to use it. You also need to have a plan for how you are going to spend your money.