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Math in Real Life
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Math in… Conveyor Belts
While many things in factories just need to get from one place to another, some might also need to be flipped over along the way. How do factories do it, and how can math explain how this works?
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Math in… Surveying
Measuring our world is important for a wide variety of reasons. But how do people do it? And how do they use math to make it all work?
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Math in… Video & Audio Sampling
Have you ever seen a video of a helicopter that appears to float while its propeller stands still? Why do cameras do that, and how can math explain it?
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Math in… Road Trips
Planning a trip with multiple stops can be tricky. The order in which you visit each stop can significantly impact your travel time. So how do you choose the best order?
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Math in… Card Shuffling
Shuffling a deck of cards can be fast and fun, but how many shuffles should you perform so that the deck is random enough?
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Math in… Grocery Shopping
When products are the same size, comparing prices is straightforward. But when products are different sizes, how do you find the cheaper one?
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Math in… Art and Perspective
Creating art that uses camera angles and perspective is cool, but how do artists use math to create brain-tricking images?
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Math in… Password Protection
When you send a password or credit card number across the internet, how can you ensure it stays safe?
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Math in… Road Trip Restaurants
If you want a nice road trip meal without needing to backtrack along the highway, can you use math to help out?
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Math in… Swimming
Swimming fast is tiring work! Olympic athletes have trouble performing at their peak as the race wears on. How can mathematicians help swimmers perform at their best?
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Math in… School Districts
Bias is present in how we divide geographic areas, from school zoning to gerrymandering. Can math provide a possible solution?
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Math in… Flag Design
As more states and territories join the United States, flag designers need to accommodate more stars. How can they use math to make visually appealing designs?
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Math in… Video Games
Video games are a ubiquitous part of everyday modern life. But how can some blinking lights on a screen create an image?
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Math in… Flowers
Today’s Math in Real Life is on the phenomenon of phyllotaxis spirals. There are a lot of myths and silly math out there about the golden ratio and Fibonacci numbers in nature, but this one’s the real deal!
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Math in… Leopard Spots
Do you know where the stripes and patterns come from on animals in our ecosystem? Whether you do or not, we've left equations for you to spot that relate to the phenomenon. Check out this week's Math in Real Life to find out more!
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Math in… Social Networks
Two vertices are adjacent if they share an edge and a neighborhood of a vertex is the set of its adjacent vertices…
If you’re reading that over and over to figure out what it means, today’s Math in Real Life can help you understand how social networks are created. We hope our breakdown makes it easy for you to visit SUMM’s neighborhood on Facebook and Instagram by liking/following us!
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Math in… Instrument Tuning
Tune in to today’s SUMM Math in Real Life topic! Revolved around musical instruments and the ratios behind neighboring notes. With this knowledge, we hope by the time summer hits you or a friend can bring this discussion to an event like Seattle’s @capitolhillblockparty
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Math in… Papel Picado
Tune in to today’s SUMM Math in Real Life topic! Revolved around musical instruments and the ratios behind neighboring notes. With this knowledge, we hope by the time summer hits you or a friend can bring this discussion to an event like Seattle’s @capitolhillblockparty