Math For Real Life For Dummies by Barry Schoenborn

Author:Barry Schoenborn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2013-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Putting Geometry to Work at Home

In This Chapter

Calculating areas and volumes for a variety of home projects

Getting familiar with conversions so you purchase just what you need

You use math, especially geometry, around the house. All you need (for a start) is to know how to calculate the area of a rectangle (and maybe an occasional triangle or circle). I cover the general how-to’s for finding areas in Chapter 2. In this chapter, I show you how easy the math can be when you tackle some common home maintenance and improvement tasks.

Note: Although I deal with specific scenarios in this chapter — like how to find the area of a flower bed so that you know how much mulch to buy — you can use the same techniques for other tasks. After all, the same principles — and math — apply whether you’re seeding a lawn or carpeting a room.

Calculating Your Way to a Better Lawn and Garden

Taking care of the lawn, the flower beds, and the vegetable garden doesn’t necessarily have to be tedious; it can be fun. Mowing the lawn was a chore when I was a kid, but the results were satisfying. And working with flower beds and a vegetable garden gives most people a lot of satisfaction.

Aside from mowing, digging, and planting, a lot of work around the home deals with spreading materials around — be they paint, concrete, or mulch. Each process takes a little math. And let’s not forget that math can also answer the question that anyone who’s ever pushed a lawn mower on a hot summer afternoon has pondered: Just how big is this yard?

Figuring how much seed you need

A great way to improve your lawn is by over-seeding. While fertilizing is important, over-seeding is a super way to make your lawn thick and weed-free. The question is, how much seed do you need to get the lush lawn you’re striving for?

To find the answer, calculate the area of your lawn and calculate how many pounds of seed you need. For this example, assume that the lawn is a rectangle on a typical city lot.

Follow these steps:

1. Calculate the area of the front lawn.

A typical city lot width is 65 feet wide. If your house is set back 25 feet from the street, the front yard’s length is 25 feet. Now you have the numbers you need to figure area, using this formula: area = length × width.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.