Mixed Up Maths, Ep 6: Maths saves lives

SUBJECTS:  Maths

YEARS:  F–2

Can maths really help to save lives?

In this clip we see some real life applications of mathematics. Some are about helping to save lives others are about how maths can be useful. What do Florence Nightingale and WHO, the World Health Organisation have in common?

Things to think about

1. 1.Have you used a graph recently to show data visually? Why is a graph used to represent data? Maths can help you solve problems. Imagine you drink a can of soft drink a day. An easy maths question is, 'How many cans is that in one year? What about, 'How many litres of soft drink would you drink in a year?' You could estimate the answer by rounding the contents of one can. How would you work it out and what is your approximate answer?
2. 2.In what way does the clip suggest Florence Nightingale used mathematics? What is one benefit of representing data visually? What would you need to know to calculate the amount of water a person would need to safely cross a desert? What would you need to know to work out the number of snow ploughs needed to clear up a blizzard? How might knowing airline passenger movements, help predict an outbreak of swine flu?
3. 3.An explorer calculates the amount of water needed to safely cross a desert. The trek is seventy kilometres. She knows she needs to drink 2 litres of water for every 5km walked. How much water does she need to take? A blizzard hits New York. One plough can usually clear an area of 5 square kilometres in 4 hours. To complete the job in 4 hours how many ploughs are needed to clear an area of 40 square kilometres?
4. 4.Imagine a flu virus outbreak in a major capital city. One thousand and twenty-seven flights leave that capital city every day. If one out of every ten passengers is infected, how many infected passengers in a plane load of 300 passengers? Estimate in one day how many infected passengers fly out of this capital city. How would this help the spread of the flu virus?

Acknowledgements

Produced by ABC Splash in collaboration with Suitcase Murphy.

Production Date: 2014

Copyright

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