Hobbies And Interests
Pizza
When ordering a pizza, one thing every person wants is the best value for their money. The key to determining value, especially in the world of food, is size. One fun math related problem is to determine whether you're getting a better value for different shaped pizzas. Let's say that you're comparing a square pizza to a round pizza and you're attempting to determine which is larger, which can then be subsequently compared by price.
The key is to know how to find the area of the pizza. For square pizzas, the area can be found by calculating length times the width. The circular area can be calculated through the formula pi times the radius to the power of two. If the square pizza is two feet wide by one foot long, then the area is two square feet. If the radius -- or length from the middle of the pizza to an edge -- is half a foot, then the area for the circular pizza will be pi times one-half to the power of two or about .78 square feet. Simply subtract the circle pizza from the square pizza and it tells you the size differential. In this case, the difference is 1.22 square feet. Divide 1.22 by .78 and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage difference. The square pizza gives about 155% more pizza area than the circle pizza.
Vehicle Speeds
The speed at which you drive a vehicle serves as a useful indicator of many things, including your current speed, an indicator relative to the rest of the traffic, as well as whether you're within the legal limits. This number uses both time and distance as a basis. A person driving 55 miles per hour is traveling at a speed that within one hour will get them 55 miles from the location that they are presently, assuming that they travel at a constant speed throughout the trip. In two hours the same person will go 110 miles, and in 3 hours, 165 miles.
Football
Many people are avid sports fans. Most of the basics of games -- such as football -- are directly related to mathematics. The entire field is a mathematical measurement of 100 yards. Each offensive side is given a set of four downs, where they are required to gain 10 yards. For each yard they gain or lose -- prior to making the total 10 yards -- the numbers will be added and subtracted. For example, on first and 10, if a player gains four yards, the following play will be second and six. If they then proceed to lose seven yards, the following play will be third and 13 and so on.