Who Needs Math?


As you work your way through this story, make sure to check in with Emily, Andy and Bot!

 



After coming home from school with a poor grade on his last math test, Mikey, frustrated with the subject, asked his father, "Who needs math?"

"Well, that's a great question, Mikey." his father answered. "Surely, everyone needs math in their life!"

"No way!" Mikey said. "I don't believe it. I'll find someone who does not need math!"

 


Mikey was on a mission to prove that not everyone needs math in their life. He figured the best place to start was with his family!

First, he met his mother in the kitchen where she was cooking dinner. "Mom, you don't use math everyday do you?"

"Oh Mikey, of course I do! When I make dinner, I need to measure ingredients, find the correct ratios to fit our family and estimate what size bowl, pan or pot I need to cook our food in!"

Mikey, looking on in complete shock, said to his mother, "But I thought you just followed the recipe?"

"Yes Mikey, I do follow a recipe but a recipe requires a lot of math! For example, this recipe is written for 10 people but we have 5 in our family. When the recipe calls for 8 carrots, I need to figure out how many I need to use."

"Wow, I didn't realize that so much math when into cooking!" Mikey said.

As his mother continued to ramble on about the recipe she was making for dinner, Mikey spotted his grandfather out of the corner of his eye. "I bet Grandpa doesn't use math." he said as he ran into the yard.




Outside in the yard, Mikey saw his grandfather gardening. "Grandpa, I'm trying to prove that you don't need math to get through life. You don't need math in gardening do you?"

"Of course you do, Mikey!" his granfather said. "I just bought 24 tulips to plant in this flowerbed. Before planting, I decided I wanted to arrange them in rows making squares or rectangles. I've found four different ways I can plant them and do you know how I figure that out?"

"Let me guess...math."

"Of course!" said Mikey's grandfather. "There is definitely a lot of math in gardening."

"I gues so." Mikey said as he walked quickly into the garage.


In the garage, Mikey found his sister, working on her new car. "Maggie," he asked, "Do you use math everyday?"

"Now that I'm driving, I'm defiintely using math!" she said.

"How so?" Mikey asked.

"Well, I use math to calcuate my miles per gallon by reading my odometer between gas station visits. I also use math to estimate how long it will take me to get to my friend's house or to simply read the road signs. You know that all the different shapes have different meanings, right?"

"Of course I do." said Mikey, picturing the road signs in his head.

"Does that answer your question?" his sister asked.

"Yes, unfortunately." Mikey said as he walked away discouraged.

 


Road Signs

Shapes Meanings



As Mikey walked back into the yard, he saw his dog Molly and thought to himself, "Surely Molly doesn't need math!"

He bent down, picked up Molly's favorite purple frisbee and threw it across the yard. As the pair continued to play fetch, Mikey began to realize something. Everytime, Molly knew that the fastest route to the frisbee. She dove under chairs, ran around trees and even knew the fastest swimming route when the frisbee fell into the pool.

"No way!" Mikey exclaimed. "Molly is using math! She is estimating the fastest route to the frisbee and knows how fast she needs to run in order to be there just in time to catch it!"

Mikey ran with joy into the house to tell his father of his findings.

 

 

Science News for Kids

 



 

 

"Dad, Dad, you were right! Everyone does use math!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Do you now see how important math can be?"

"Yes, I do. And I found out that math doesn't have to be calculations and numbers but a patterned thought process. Dad, even Molly uses mathematical thinking!" Mikey said.

"Wow. You really did discover some exciting things about math!"

"Yes, I did and now I see why I have to practice my math in school. If I want to be able to cook, garden, drive a car and even fetch a ball, I need to know math!"

"Yes, let me know the next time you plan to fetch a ball." Mikey's father said chuckling.

"I can't wait to find out more ways to use math everday. After all, who doesn't need math?"

 

 

 

Numbers of Nature



Sources:

Eather, Jenny. "A Maths Dictionary for Kids." A Maths Dictionary for Kids 2013 by Jenny Eather. N.p., 2013. Web. 24 June 2013.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 June 2013.

"Road Signs You Must Know." New York State Driver's Manual. NYS DMV, n.d. Web. 24 June 2013.

Sohn, Emily. "It’s a Math World for Animals." Science News for Kids. Society for Science & the Public, 7 Oct. 2003. Web. 24 June 2013.

"The Numbers of Nature - Amazing Math Video." The Numbers of Nature - Amazing Math Video. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2013.