Application of Maths

Budgeting is listing and planning estimated income and spending. This allows us to make informed choices regarding spending and saving.

Income is the amount of money which comes to a person or organisation.

When deciding upon a purchase you can find the best deal by comparing information on the product or service being provided.

Travelling abroad involves converting currencies into the currency of the country visited. To calculate the amount, exchange rates are used. Some foreign exchange providers charge a commission.

Interest can be added to an amount of money when it is saved or borrowed. Credit agreements have an amount of interest built in.

A look at how dodgem cars are stored and set up.

Statistical information can be presented through constructing, interpreting and comparing diagrams.

Data sets can be compared by looking at their similarities and differences. This can be done by first calculating an average and a measure of spread for reach.

Scatter graphs are a visual way of showing if there is a connection between groups of data. If there is a strong connection or correlation, a ‘line of best fit’ can be drawn.

In this National 4 Lifeskills Maths study guide, you can revise how to find the perimeter and area of triangles, quadrilaterals (rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus, kite and square), circles, arcs, sectors and composite shapes can all be calculated using relevant formulae.

Using relevant formulae the volume and surface area of cuboids, cubes, prisms, cylinders, spheres, cones and composite shapes can be calculated.

Pythagoras’ theorem can be used to calculate the length of the third side of a right angled triangle when given the lengths of the other two sides.

Gradient is a measure of how steep a slope or a line is. Gradients can be calculated by dividing the vertical height by the horizontal distance.

A scale factor can be used to enlarge or reduce a shape. A missing length on a reduction/enlargement figure can be calculated by finding its linear scale factor.

Container packing for packing boxes or filling ferries with vehicles can be carried out using first-fit algorithm.

A navigation course can be planned using a map or plan. Using bearings and length this course can be presented in diagram form. Unknown distances can be measured or calculated from the diagram.

Calculations in the workplace and in everyday life can involve the use of a measurement in a directly proportional relationship.

A scale drawing is a representation of a shape or series of displacements in a diagram of convenient size.

Basic problems in time management and time intervals can be solved by calculations. This may involve changing decimal time to hours and minutes.

Tolerance defines the range of values in which a measurement is acceptable.