Real-Life Math
You are a video game tester looking at a new game
called the Luck o' the Irish. During the game, you go through different
levels collecting points that you will present to the leprechaun at the final
level. He will then give you a pot of gold.
You enter the first screen
into an Irish landscape. You search the screen, collecting coins that are
worth two points each. You collect 43 coins.
Then you collect shamrocks.
The first 10 shamrocks you collect are worth five points each. Then you collect
the 11th shamrock and get six points. With the 12th, you get seven points.
You then collect the 13th and get eight points. Uh-oh! You just discovered
the rainbow -- that means you'll lose 10 points.
You need 200
points to move to the next level, and time is running out.
Will you
make it to the next level with the points you have now?
"It's very
important to be able to analyze that (activities such as counting points)
properly, so math skills are very important," says Nathan Pinard. He's a quality
assurance manager for Ludia, a game company.