Jon Oaks

Tag: Application

  • The Beef Taco Dilemma

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    This is a problem that I wrote for my statistics class.  The objectives for this problem are as follows: 1.  Compute percentages. 2.  Compute the arithmetic mean. 3.  Critically think about whether or not Joe had enough tacos to meet the ‘average’ demand.   What I found was some students had a hard time computing the percentages and some…

  • Scotch Tape and Gas Prices Dilemma

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    So, my whole recent obsession with Scotch Tape sort of began a few weeks ago when the following problem popped into my mind… Suppose your boss wants you to buy six 1/2 in x 450 in rolls of Scotch tape at the dollar store (remember the 6% Michigan sales tax).  Your boss wants you to…

  • Thought-Provoking Proportion Challenge Problems

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    I totally meant to share these problems a few weeks ago, but I wanted to try it out with my classes first.  However, I got so distracted with doing my Capture & Recapture Lab that we never got to the worksheet.  Yes, I did a Capture & Recapture lab for my Beginning Algebra Classes to…

  • I Use Matrices in Everyday Life, Do You?

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    I am teaching a Finite Math class this semester and the majority of students in the class are business majors.  I’m trying to make the class as relevant to them as possible, so I’ve been reading magazines such as INC, and Entrepreneur to try to get ideas for things that I can talk about in class.…

  • The Snooze Button is Now a Math Problem

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    Yesterday I came across this problem while planning a lesson on ratio and proportion: "When I woke up this morning, I hit the snooze button and got 10 extra minutes to sleep.  Every time I hit the button, I get 10 extra minutes.  At this rate, if my alarm first goes off at 5:30 and…

  • Rotten Tomatoes, Linear Equations, Ratio and Proportion

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    This problem came about because I was talking about solving the equation 4x + y = – 14 for y and there was a little confusion about how I could  subtract 4x from – 14.  Although this was really a problem with combining like terms, I figured that now was as good of a time…

  • New Application Problems from the Classroom

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    Here are few more problems that I came up with during today’s class: 1.  Clyde owed 8 different people $4 each for some doughnuts that he bought to eat on his birthday. Then when he wasn’t looking, Hellman’s stole $4 from Clyde’s wallet.  In order to reclaim his debt, Clyde needed to split up his…

  • Teaching Signed Numbers with Zombies, Ghostbusters, and Night Vision Goggles

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    Here are three new application problems that I came up with while teaching signed numbers this morning.  Remember, I came up with these on the spot, during class.  So, just imagine that the entire class is paying attention to each of these problems as I am writing them, trying to figure out what is going…

  • GCF, LCM, and Order of Operations

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    In my Basic Mathematics class we just finished discussing the order of operations, and students always seem to have a problem with it, especially when division comes before multiplication (Sally has always told them otherwise).  Today we discussed finding the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) and Least Common Multiple (LCM), another topic that students sometimes seem…

  • Mathematics in the News

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    Sometimes as an instructor I struggle to get students to see the relevance of mathematics.  Although mathematics isn't in the news nearly as often as I think it should be, here are links to a few websites that do document real-time mathematics news, along with a website with some interesting videos that might help to…