Use Your Fingers, Use Your Toes: Quick and Easy Step-By-Step Solutions to Your Everyday Math Problems

by Norcross, Beth

• ISBN13: 9781931868143
• ISBN10: 193186814X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Casemate Pub & Book Dist Llc

Summary

You've taken an important client out for a business dinner and when the check comes, you have to quickly calculate the appropriate tip. Your favorite local store is having its fabulous once-a-year sale and you need to calculate the discount savings you'll get. These real life scenarios strike fear in the hearts of those who struggle with math. Other puzzling problems include adjusting recipes; calculating calorie counts and fat grams; measuring for new carpets and wallpaper; and figuring percentage discounts, mortgage interest, taxes, sports statistics, miles per gallon, and of course, tipping. Beth Norcross explains how to solve these math conundrums in a clear step-by-step format. By using common sense shortcuts, most problems can be solved in as little as five minutes. So relax, take your boss, your friends, and your clients out to dinner. Head to the sale at your favorite store for a new wardrobe. The quick solutions in this book will make you forget you were ever afraid of math. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Beth Norcross has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in forestry, with a concentration in applied mathematics, from Duke University. She enjoyed a distinguished career in natural resources policy for the United States Senate and as a vice president for American Rivers, a national environmental organization. Ms. Norcross has been quoted widely in print media. She lives with her husband and children in the Washington, D.C. area

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xiii
What's in This Book	xiii
How to Use This Book	xv
Math Do's and Don'ts	xvi
Part 1: Math at Home
1: Food Preparation	3	(18)
How Much Food Do You Need?	3	(4)
Meats	4	(1)
Pies	5	(1)
Other Dishes	6	(1)
Changing Recipes	7	(7)
Increasing a Recipe	7	(2)
One-and-a-Half-ing a Recipe	9	(3)
Decreasing a Recipe	12	(2)
Changing from One Measure to Another	14	(3)
Calculating Cooking Time	17	(4)
2: Weight Loss and Exercise	21	(22)
Calorie Deficit-Your Key to Weight Loss	22	(17)
Calories Taken In-Tracking Food Consumption	23	(7)
Calories Used Up	30	(6)
Using Calorie Deficit to Lose Weight	36	(3)
How Long Will It Take You to Lose Weight?	39	(4)
3: Home Improvement	43	(34)
Changing Units of Measure	43	(2)
How Much Do You Need and How Much Will It Cost?	45	(20)
Things That Come in Lengths	45	(6)
Things That Come in Sheets	51	(10)
Things That Come in Bulk	61	(4)
Paint	65	(3)
Spacing	68	(9)
Plants in a Garden	68	(2)
Shelving	70	(1)
Hanging Pictures	70	(7)
Part 2: Math away from Home
4: Tipping	77	(6)
Figuring Out the Exact Tip	78	(1)
A Quick-and-Dirty Approach to Tipping	79	(4)
5: Shopping	83	(16)
Markdown Percentage	83	(4)
You Know the Markdown Percentage-What's the Sale Price?	84	(1)
You Know the Sale Price-What's the Markdown Percentage?	85	(2)
Comparison Shopping	87	(6)
Using Unit Pricing	88	(1)
Comparing Prices When Unit Pricing is Not Available	88	(2)
Comparing Prices for Foods That Come in Different Containers	90	(1)
Buy One, Get One Free	91	(2)
Coupons	93	(2)
Internet Shopping	95	(4)
6: Traveling	99	(38)
Working with Time	99	(10)
Time Intervals	100	(3)
Calculating the Time in Different Time Zones	103	(6)
Driving	109	(7)
Fuel Efficiency-Computing Miles per Gallon	109	(2)
How Long Will It Take to Get There?	111	(2)
How Far Can You Go in One Day?	113	(1)
Average Speed	114	(2)
Foreign Travel	116	(21)
Driving Abroad	116	(6)
Temperature-Fahrenheit and Celsius	122	(4)
Changing Currency	126	(11)
7: Sports	137	(20)
Standings	138	(2)
Games Won/Lost	138	(1)
Percentage of Games Won	138	(1)
Games behind the Leader	139	(1)
Using Percentages to Measure Sports Performance	140	(2)
Sport-Specific Stats	142	(15)
Baseball	142	(2)
Football	144	(4)
Hockey	148	(1)
Golf	149	(8)
Part 3: Personal Finance Math
8: Wages, Salaries, and Taxes	157	(20)
Wages	158	(1)
Time and a Half and Double Time	158	(1)
Salaries-Percent Raises	159	(5)
Calculating a Raise When You Know the Percentage Increase	160	(1)
Calculating Percentage Increase	161	(1)
Calculating Percentage Decrease	162	(1)
The Rich Get Richer	163	(1)
Why Is Your Paycheck So Small?-Payroll Deductions	164	(3)
Taxes	167	(10)
Using Tax Tables	168	(2)
Can a Raise Be Bad for You?	170	(1)
Should You Itemize Your Deductions?	171	(6)
9: Balancing Your Checkbook	177	(16)
Keeping a Checkbook Registry	178	(4)
Reconciling Your Bank Statement	182	(11)
10: Investment Basics	193	(22)
Interest	193	(5)
Simple Interest	194	(2)
Compound Interest-How Money Grows over Time	196	(2)
Investments	198	(18)
Using a Financial Calculator	198	(1)
How Much Will Your Money Be Worth in the Future?	199	(5)
Considering Taxes in Your Investments	204	(11)
11: Borrowing Money	215	(22)
Calculating Monthly Payments-Car Loans, Furniture, Etc.	216	(2)
Calculating the Real Interest You Are Paying	218	(1)
Mortgages	219	(6)
Estimating Your Monthly Mortgage Payment	220	(2)
Thirty-Year versus Fifteen-Year Mortgages	222	(1)
Adjustable-Rate Mortgages	223	(2)
Credit Cards	225	(8)
Interest Rates-The Real Story	225	(2)
The Real Price of an Item Bought with a Credit Card	227	(3)
The Problem with Paying Just the Minimum Balance	230	(1)
Paying Them Off	231	(2)
Considering Taxes in Your Loan Decisions	233
Appendixes
Appendix 1: Twelve Tips to Stress-Free Math	237	(2)
Appendix 2: Fractions	239	(10)
Appendix 3: Percents	249	(4)
Appendix 4: Rounding	253	(4)
Appendix 5: Perimeter, Area, and Volume	257	(8)
Appendix 6: Changing Units of Measure	265	(2)
Afterword	267	(2)
Index	269