![]() You are planning a road trip to visit some relatives on the other side of the state. This will allow you to determine how many cups of cranberries to use on that occasion. The beauty of this equation is that any time you need to cook your recipe for more than four people, you can always change the value of x to the number of people for whom you are cooking. The variable x represents the number of diners that you are trying to feed. It is the target variable in this equation. ![]() The variable y represents the total number of cups of cranberries you should use in your recipe. This time you decided to write an equation using two variables. Using a pen, you jot down the following on the back of the recipe card: So, how do you determine how much you need to use to feed all twelve people? Glancing over your recipe, you notice that it calls for 3 cups of cranberries to be used for four servings. You know that you need to make a larger batch, which means using more of each ingredient. Before the anxiety kicks in you rely on math to save the day. The turkey is stuffed and ready to go in the oven, and the potatoes are cooked, but you still have to make your famous homemade cranberry sauce.Īs you are about to begin following your recipe, you notice that it only makes enough cranberry sauce for four servings-but you will have a total of twelve people to feed. You have finished your grocery trip and returned home from the supermarket to prepare the big feast. Now, look ahead to the next part of our holiday dinner preparation for another application of algebra that you can use in real life. Thanks to experience, we often do these quick computations in our heads, but at the root of what we are solving is an algebraic equation. While this example may seem trivial, it illustrates that we often use algebra without realizing it. In this case, we have solved for x to determine that our 18 pound turkey can feed a total of 12 people. A variable value, x, represents the number of people who can be fed with an 18 pound turkey if we assume that 1.5 lbs are needed for each person. What you have just performed is one of the most basic, real-life uses for algebra. You pull out a piece of paper and a pen and write down the following algebraic equation: ![]() How can you determine how many people this turkey will feed so that nobody goes hungry at dinner?Īs a general rule of thumb, you need approximately 1.5 lbs of turkey for each person. ![]() The weight on the package says that the turkey weighs 18 lbs. As you look around the supermarket to choose a turkey, you are disappointed to find only one remains. You have decided that the main course for the meal will be a nice juicy turkey. Imagine that you’re going to a big holiday feast, and you’re in charge of buying the groceries and cooking the meal. Now that we have the definition out of the way let’s look at some practical uses for algebra in real life.Ī Deliciously Simple Application of Algebra in Real Life These rules are nothing but simple algebraic statements. While we humans are conditioned to naturally perform basic math such as – “2 teaspoons of sugar for 1 person implies 4 teaspoons, for 2 people” machines need a more defined version of such “rules”. Even for computers today, which run a lot of everything, basics of algebra is what powers them. There may be other variables involved as well, which will be the variables that alter the value of the target variable as they are changed. They allow one or more input values to be changed, altering the answer to the problem based on the inputs.Įach equation that you solve will have at least one target variable, which is the value for which you are trying to solve the problem. These unknown values represented by letters are called variables. However, the difference is that some numbers are represented by letters because their values are unknown or may be changed. Simply put, algebra is still only arithmetic. “…a generalization of arithmetic in which letters representing numbers are combined according to the rules of arithmetic.” A Deliciously Simple Application of Algebra in Real Lifeīefore we get into some practical uses of algebra, let’s define it.
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