Real-Life Math
You are an ornithologist. You have been working in the field collecting
data about owls. You have just arrived back at the office to go over your
findings.
"Ornithologists use statistics for analyzing data they have
collected out in the field," says Ron Rohrbaugh, an ornithologist. "For example,
you might use the figures to determine differences in a survey of bird populations."
Now
that you are back in the lab, you are sorting through your data and your scrapbooks,
as well as the photographs you took of the owls.
You have a photograph
of the owl showing the bird to be 2 inches long. If the bird in the photograph
is 1/8 the size of the actual owl, how many inches tall is the actual owl?
How many feet is this?
A colleague at the office is putting together
statistical information about the penguin. He has a sketch of a penguin that
is 1 inch tall. If this drawing is 1/36 of the actual size, how many inches
tall is the actual penguin? How many feet is this?
Hint: 12 inches
= 1 foot
"We use numbers to analyze all kinds of data that we bring
back to the lab," says Rohrbaugh.