A Bit of Everyday Maths
Maths helps you navigate our world.
Numbers are everywhere. Maths is all around us. A basic understanding of mathematics is important for the decisions we make in our lives. This article gives a few examples of everyday mathematics.
The maths of shopping
How do you know when you have found a bargain? We want to constrain how much we spend and get a good deal.
Supermarket labels will now often show the price per unit or set amount. For example, liquids might have their price per litre shown.
However, you may need to calculate this figure yourself. Supermarkets can be inconsistent too.
Imagine you are buying dishwasher tablets. There are two products:
- £9 for 65 tabs, weighing 878g (which is a reduced price);
- £6 for 46 tabs, weighing 736g (and not on offer).
The second product is slightly cheaper per tab. It is 13p per tab versus 14p for the ‘offer’ product.
There is a larger difference in terms of weight: a kilogram of the second product is priced at £8.15. The ‘offer’ product is priced at £10.25 per kilogram.
Despite being on offer, that product is more expensive.
