The Relevance of Mathematics in Everyday Life, Then and Now.

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by Alexandria Ferraz

Introduction.

Many students would agree Pythagoras’ theorem or algebra will not be useful to them after they leave school. However, they may not realize programmers use algebraic equations to aid in the creation of their smart device code, or the possibility that Pythagoras’ theorem helped in the construction of their homes. Considering these two examples, this asks the question of how relevant are mathematics to everyday life? In order to answer this question, a brief biography of a historical figure who contributed to the field of mathematics will be discussed to represent the “Then” segment of this blog. An interview was conducted with someone within my bio-bubble to link the relevance of math now.

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A brief biography on John Dalton.

 

The first modern atomic theory, put forward by & credited to Dalton in the early 19^th century, is considered the foundation for our current concept of the atom.

 

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John Dalton was an English chemist, physicist & meteorologist best known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry as well as his research into color blindness, which is sometimes referred to as Daltonism in his honor. He was born on September 6th, 1766 in Eaglesfield, England & died on July 27, 1844, in Manchester, England. He was born into a Quaker family of tradesmen. When Dalton was 12 years old, John Fletcher handed over his private school to his older brother, Johnathan, who asked his younger brother to help with teaching. Two years later, they bought and ran a school in Kendal, Westmorland, where they taught about 60 students. 

Around this time, Dalton had two influential mentors: Elihu Robinson & John Gough. From these two men, he learned the basic principles of Mathematics, Greek, and Latin. They inspired Dalton’s life-long fascination with meteorology.  In 1793, he published a collection of meteorological topics based on his observations called Meteorological Observations & Essays, which lead him to his view on Atomism. In 1808, he published a book A New System of Chemical Philosophy, which introduced his beliefs which state:

1. “All matter is comprised of tiny definite particles called Atoms”.

2. “Atoms are indivisible & indestructible”. – This theory was later proven to be incorrect, as atoms consist of electrons.

3. “All atoms of a particular element share identical properties, including weight”.

4. “Atoms of different elements contain different masses”.

5. “Atoms of different elements combine in fixed, whole-number ratios when forming compounds”.

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An interview with Mario Bird.

 

A face-to-face interview was conducted with freelance project manager, Mr. Mario Bird (pseudonym) on Sunday, February 21, 2021, at 12:30pm. Mr. Mario Bird has been working in the field of project management & construction for 3 decades.

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Question 1: What is your name?

Mr. Bird: Mario Bird (pseudonym)

Question 2: What is your profession?

Mr. Bird: Project Management.

Question 3: How many years have you been working in that field?

Mr. Bird: 30 years.

Question 4: Why is mathematics important in your field?

Mr. Bird: In 3 aspects: measurement of material, which refers to the quantity of materials a site requires, surveying of the site, calculation of the structural loads & calculation of the cooling loads.

Question 5: Can you further explain, what are the calculations of cooling loads?

Mr. Bird: The calculations of cooling loads are finding out how much a building heats up to figure out how much cooling it needs.

Question 6:  Is/Are there any particular branch(es) and/or theorem(s) that is/are essential in your field?

Mr. Bird: Yes. Trigonometry, area & volume & Pythagoras’ theorem.

Question 7: Why are they important?  Can you give any real-life examples of it being used?

Mr. Bird: Trigonometry is used to survey and lay out the building in relation to the site. Pythagorean triples, such as 3:5:4 or 9:16:25, are used to find out if the walls & the building itself are square & truly vertical. Lastly, area is used to calculate how much tiles would be required to cover a floor & volume is used to calculate the amount of cubic yards of concrete which is necessary for the foundation & the slab of the building.

Question 8: Is there any experience that made you realize the importance of mathematics in your field of work?

Mr. Bird: Yes, any miscalculations could result in a possible fatal injury or a total re-design of the building.

Question 9: Outside of your profession, why do you think math is important in everyday life?

Mr. Bird: You have to calculate how much income you can generate in order to live a comfortable life.

Question 10: If there are any readers interested in pursuing in your field of work, what would be your advice?

Mr. Bird: To study & understand mathematics in all its forms.

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Discussion.

 

What is the meaning & relevance of my research? How does it relate to the research questions posed?

 

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After researching John Dalton and conducting the interview with Mr. Mario Bird, it is clear that mathematics still holds a strong relevance in everyday life. Even though Dalton’s atomic theory wasn’t entirely correct, Dalton’s theory was the first comprehensive attempt to detail all matter in terms of atoms & their properties. This led to the creation of the modern atomic theory as we know it today. In the interview, Mr. Mario Bird highlighted some of the many branches of mathematics that are used on a construction site.  However, the atomic theory, trigonometry or Pythagoras’ theorem wouldn’t be as commonly used as basic arithmetic. For example, when a customer visits a supermarket or grocery, they would use multiplication to find out what is the cost of the same item multiplied by how many they would need.

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Conclusion.

Final thoughts & ideas. 

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In this blog, we explored a short biography of John Dalton & his contributions in the field of mathematics, then conducted an interview with Mr. Bird where we discussed the importance of mathematics in construction. After a long journey of research, websites & interview questions, mathematics has shown that it is still relevant in everyday life. The limitations that I encountered during this project were the amount of conflicting information on the mathematician that I researched as well as finding an interviewee.

 

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References. 

Websites, books, etc. that were used for the research of this assignment.

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1. Ross, Sydney, John Dalton. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Dec. 2020, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dalton

2.,Wikipedia (2021). John Dalton. Retrieved February 17 Feb. 2021, from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dalton

3. Stewart, Doug, John Dalton. Famous Scientists. 27 Oct. 2014, from:

https://www.famousscientists.org/john-dalton/

4.  Science History Institute. (2021). John Dalton.  Retrieved February 18 Feb. 2021, from:

https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/john-dalton

5. The Royal Society (2021). John Dalton FRS. Retrieved February 19 2021, from:

https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversity-in-science/scientists-with-disabilities/john-dalton/

6. Purdue University College of Science. (2021). John Dalton. Retrieved February 21 2021, from:

https://bit.ly/2NkRyhH

7. Biography. (2020). John Dalton Biography. Retrieved June 5 2020, from:

https://www.biography.com/scientist/john-dalton

8. Michalovic, Mark. John Dalton & the Scientific Method. May 22 2008.

https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/john-dalton-and-the-scientific-method

9. Chemistry Libretexts. (2021). Postulates of Dalton's Atomic Theory. Retrieved Friday 19 2021, from:

https://bit.ly/3bzF7Xr

10. Khan Academy. (2021). Dalton's Atomic Theory. Retrieved Friday 19 2021, from:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-chemistry/atoms-compounds-ions-ap/compounds-and-ions-ap/a/daltons-atomic-theory-version-2