Real-Life Math -- Solution
1. What is the largest number of flyers you can get per sheet?
To
find the most flyers per sheet, divide the length and width of the large sheet
by the length and width of the small sheet.
Big Sheet Width / Small
Sheet Width
25 / 5.5 = 4.55
Big Sheet Length
/ Small Sheet Length
38 / 8.5 = 4.47
Now round
it off because you can't have half sizes.
5 x 4 = 20
This
way, you get 20 flyers per sheet.
Now reverse it.
Big
Sheet Length / Small Sheet Width
38 / 5.5 = 6.91
Big
Sheet Width / Small Sheet Length
25 / 8.5 = 2.94
Now
round it off because you can't have half sizes.
7 x 3 = 21
This
way, you get 21 flyers per sheet. Therefore, the most you can get is 21 flyers
per sheet.
2. How much paper, in square inches, is left over
per sheet?
To find out how much paper is left over, calculate
the total area of the big sheet minus the total area of the 16 sheets.
Area
of big sheet
38 x 25 = 950 square inches
The size
of a sheet is 950 square inches.
Area of the 16 flyers
5.5
x 8.5 x 16 = 748 square inches
The area of the flyers is 748
square inches.
950 - 748 = 202 square inches
For
each sheet, 202 square inches of paper are wasted.
3.
If you print 4,800 flyers, how many sheets of paper will you use? How much
paper, in square inches, will be wasted?
4,800 / 16 = 312.5
You
will use 300 sheets.
300 x 202 square inches = 60,600 square
inches
You will waste 60,600 square inches of
paper. Of course, it will all be recycled!
Printing machine operators
use math for problems like the one above. If this problem was easy for you,
your math skills are already strong enough for this career.
"You've
got to use a bit of math," says printing machine operator Graham Pratt. "You're
using add and subtract, multiply and divide. It's not trigonometry or anything
like that. It's just basic skills."
Printing machine operators often
count large numbers of pages. Being able to count quickly and remember numbers
comes in handy.
Most printing machines use imperial measurements. However,
some of the newer presses work with metric as well. Therefore, it's also useful
to be able to convert metric measurements to imperial, and vice-versa.