Basic Math - Unit I Lesson III: Real World!-Order of Operations

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Many people comment on math as useless, pointless even. This lesson will serve as a reminder the importance of math in day to day life. Every now and then we have real world scenarios to demonstrate math. From now on, we'll have an essential question for each lesson to have a better understanding or grasp of what's the topic for this chapter.

Essential Question: How can we apply order of operations to real-world scenarios?

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to use order of operations and apply them to real-world problems. To start off, here's a good example:

Main Question: The Apple Problem

Starting off simple, we have Johnny. Johnny is carrying 9 apples as we speak. Johnny decides to get rid of the rotten apples, 3 of the 9 apples, to be specific. He is not planning on eating the remainder of the apples. Therefore, he would like to split the rest of those apples equally with 3 of his friends: Carol, Mandy, and Samantha. How many apples do each friend receive?

I'll give you a quick look at the problem, and then we'll go over it together.

Unlock the Problem

Well, for starters, Johnny has 9 apples to start with. Let's label that as, well, 9, obviously. Johnny decides to throw away the rotten apples he has now—3 of which are rotten. We can use simple subtraction learned from previous lessons to demonstrate what happens here (9 - 3). In math, it's good practice to put an logical operation in parentheses if that is the intended action to start with or to achieve after one instruction has already been completed. In other words, do what makes sense first.

Now we're on a roll, let's do the next step. Johnny, our main person, is ready to split the apples with 3 friends. Well, we can simply use a division operator, as we've already covered in previous chapters. Now, from start to beginning, let's read the equation we have from left to right:

(9 - 3) / 3
    ^ (Remember, in parentheses as it is the action intended to go first)

Simple enough, right? So, let's use basic subtraction and division to finish the solution. If we remember what we learned last chapter, we can determine that 9 - 3 is 6. Now, what are we left with?

6 / 3

Bingo! Now do 6 divided by 3 (6 - 3 until you reach 0). Once you're finished you should find the answer is 2. Therefore. . .

(9 - 3) / 3 = 2

Well, what does that 2 really mean? Let's go over our essential question which states how we can apply order of operations to real scenarios. The 2 represents the answer to our problem: the amount of apples each friend receives! We did it! Hurrah!

On Your Own

Can you solve this problem on your own? Try it out on paper; or write the solution in the comments!

Bonus Question: The Video Game Problem

Mary is playing her favorite video game with her sibling. She is trying to calculate how many points she earned over the duration of the game. She received 5 points on 3 separate occasions after making her ball in the green zone. She then lost 3 points after making her ball in the red zone. She then gained back 10 points for making it in the splash zone. How many points has she made in total?

Hint: Start with the first part of the problem (and remember to put it in parentheses if necessary, depending on the operation—usually addition or subtraction) and work your way to the last part. Write the equation out if needed!

Review:
We now know that order of operations can be applied to real-world scenarios if the criteria is met. Great, we met our goals for this chapter!
Parentheses is added if it is the intended action to be taken first (usually hinted at by its operation—addition/subtraction)
Remember, look back at the question if you want to understand what or how your answer is meant to be represented.

Events on the Horizon!:
- Basic Math - Unit I Lesson IV: Properties in Math
- Basic Math - Unit I: Pop Quiz

See you next time in Lesson IV! Until next time, Mathemagician is signing out!

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