Too often this ends badly a few years down the line.  The property does not perform as they hoped and then end up disappointed with their purchase.

Granted if your looking at real estate in an emerging market such as Nicaragua, Belize or Kenya for example, it can be hard to find reliable data on which to base your investing decisions.  Unlike in the US, Canada, or other mature markets, official statistics are not collated centrally and there is often no Multiple Listing Service (see more).  It’s practically impossible to find out exactly what properties sold, for what price and for how long they were on the market before they sold.

So in order to let the numbers drive your investment strategy, you have to collect the data yourself.  Whenever I am purchasing real estate in a country where it’s hard to get my hands on solid market data, I build out my own spreadsheet of asking prices.  I know up front that asking prices are not the same as sales prices, but in a world without official data, they are the next best thing.

There have been many times when collecting the numbers and doing the math have saved me from an expensive mistake.  Just last year when researching Nicaragua real estate, I fell in love with an ocean view villa just outside the town of San Juan del Sur.  I was so captivated by the view that I almost pulled the trigger on the day I first saw the property.  Luckily I managed to restrain myself and spent the next 5 days building a spreadsheet of the asking prices of comparable properties.  With these “comps” in hand I quickly realized that the property was overpriced.

I managed to rein set my head into the decision making and stop my heart from taking over.

Can you do the same?

Math Courses are Cumulative.
You can’t expect to be poor at basic math and then great at handling complex equations. It just doesn’t work that way. If you’re going to succeed at math, then you’ll need to have a firm foundation in the basic courses. Start with the easy courses. Review all your math courses beginning with those from your older classes to your current classes. Focus on the areas that you are uncomfortable with. Math’s complexities mean that you may end up struggling in the beginning. But if you stick at it, you’ll find yourself become a better Math’s student.

You need to be involved.
The only way you’ll ever get better at math is if you pick up a pen and work on a couple of problems on your own. Never ignore your maths homework. Instead, make a habit of working on your assignments every day. The longer you spend at math, the easier it will become. You won’t get far by just listening to your instructor during courses.  Copy out the examples that your instructor uses and try and rework them in your spare time. Math requires your commitment and involvement. It’s the only way it works.

Understand Why.
Some students fly through their math scores by memorizing dates, formulas or certain rules. You may earn an ‘A’ this way but it won’t make you a better student. In order to become a better maths student, you need to understand why certain formulas are used in different situations. Learning more about the way math problems are solved will teach you how to handle problems of your own. Advanced math problems typically involve dozens of different math formulas at varying stages. Unless you understand what these are and how they work, you’ll find it harder solving practical math applications.

Visualize a Problem: Math is so much more than just numbers. You’ll find it easier handling math problems if you try visualize what you’re doing. Sometimes a math problem might require many long steps.  Try and use shortcuts when applicable. This will improve your speed at handling questions and reduce the risk of you getting confused.

Challenge Yourself: So now you’re good at handling certain problems. Don’t stop there. A mathematician’s journey never truly ends. Continue to challenge yourself every day with newer equations. This will increase your speed and improve your confidence in handling advanced questions.

Math has many levels and you will need to study them in a certain order to learn it properly. If you have not had any math since high school, then you should begin with basic introductory classes to trigonometry, algebra and calculus. Once you have overcome these subjects, you can start specializing in any other scientific field that you are interested in, such as greenhouse gas research, physics or astronomy.

Let us look at one typical example as an example – the buying process for a new refrigerator.  Too the poorly informed it may seem like there is not much use for mathematics in this decision making process, but this could not be further from the truth!

To start with, when looking at refrigerator reviews – or even just reading a list of specifications – shoppers will be taking in data like width, height, depth, volume.  An educated mind is able to tie these together into an underlying whole and understand the mathematics behind them.  When math skills are lacking, these will just be a string of numbers.

With adequate math skills one is able to take these numbers extracted from a refrigerators review and tie them back to the dimensions of your kitchen, or of your proposed installation area, and have a full understanding of any limitation that may prohibit the installation of the model under consideration.

Even once you have analyzed refrigerator reviews and decided which model to purchase; mathematics still has a further role to play.  Will you pay cash, or will you finance your purchase?  If a retailer is offering a great deal on financing so as to move more products, it may make sense to take advantage of low interesting financing.

However, these types of calculations are not simple.  To make the right decision the consumers’ needs to have knowledge and awareness of items like discount rates, opportunity costs, percentages, interest rates, finance charges and the like.

While concepts like these are not difficult, a proper understanding does require a solid mathematical background.  Decisions on financing are very important as they can potentially cost a buyer hundreds of dollars if poorly made.

Hopefully this example of the use of mathematics in reviewing refrigerators for purchase – and exploring financing options – will demonstrate to teens the need to focus their attention on their math studies while at school.

There are more cups of coffee drunk each day in the USA than the leading brand of cola. But these days a lot of people are taking the wise move of buying a home espresso machine to reduce the cost of their daily coffee.

The very first espresso machine was invented by Luigi Bezzera in 1901 but since then, the technology, engineering and math involved in designing an espresso maker has advanced significantly.

Espresso machines work by forcing hot water through compacted coffee at very high pressure. In particular, super-automatic espresso makers are complex systems which deal with every function from the grinding of the beans to the production of the final espresso. So what things does the engineer have to consider when designing one?

• Managing the temperature
• Timing
• The flow of water in the machine
• The physical portafilter design

As you can imagine a good knowledge of math would be essential in designing a system that does all of these things simultaneously. So if you’re interested in going into the world of kitchen appliance design then remember it’s not all about the looks. The engineering of these modern appliances is impressive so stick in at your math class if you want to be the next Luigi Bezzera.

Fourier calculated that the temperature of planet Earth was incorrect.  He used mathematics to prove that if the Earth was only warmed by the Suns Rays, then it should be considerably cooler than it was.  There was another factor effecting the overall temperature of the Earth, the phrase greenhouse effect is now part of everyday speech.  The warming, insulation effect of  greenhouse gasses has become possibly the most important challenge facing the human race today.   Without Fourier and the mathematicians who followed him then we would have little warning about the devastating consequences that face us unless we adapt a much more eco friendly way of living on this planet.

It might not look like the key to solving one of the Earths most pressing problems -

(Greenhouse Law for CO2) ∆F = α ln(C/C0)

But the Greenhouse Law developed from Fourier’s original findings is very valid today and forms the core of the studies of environmental scientists trying to study the causes and effects of climate change.   The law was discovered by a Swedish scientist called Svante August Arrhenius who started by developing a theory to explain the Ice Ages.

He spent his latter years working out the mathematical model that would describe our problem and perhaps lead to a solution.   By developing a formula to illustrate temperature change that is caused by the changes in the amount of Carbon Dioxide – he has illustrated the sheer scale of our issue.  The formula and the change in  CO2 that is required to modify the Earths temperature is core to our efforts.  This core  mathematical model of climate change will in the years to come touch all our lives.

You can use math for programming and other skills also. One use for math can be for becoming a pilot. In order to become a great pilot you need to know how stuff works through mathematics and other aviation knowledge. You need to practice the use of math and flying through a flight simulator. A program that’s great to learn flying on is the Pro Flight Simulator which will teach you about the basics of flying. It might not seem like it, but in order to become a pilot, you need to know a lot about mathematics. Math comes into play when you read instruments and panels on an airplane and also, when some of the controls don’t work.

So, you need math for almost everything that you do. You even need some math when driving a car. The speedometer uses math to calculate how fast you are going and how much time it will be to arrive at your destination. You simply cannot get by in this world without a little bit of math! So, dust of those mathematics skills and put it to some use. You can use a calculator if you want, but get used to using your head as well.

Removal of Moles and science as well as physics go hand in hand yet mathematics should not be forgotten as without this being able to relate to the patient and carry out the procedure would not be possible. ]]> http://mathsurvey.org/mathematics-for-moles.html/feed 0 http://mathsurvey.org/i-was-never-good-at-math-but-im-doing-just-fine.html http://mathsurvey.org/i-was-never-good-at-math-but-im-doing-just-fine.html#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:32:10 +0000 jellybean http://mathsurvey.org/?p=109 Ever since I can remember, I have disliked math. It probably started around junior high when we did more than just add, subtract, divide, multiply, etc. The concepts got more abstract to me and I had a hard time wrapping my head around them. By the time I got to Geometry in high school, forget it. I couldn’t tell you anything about a triangle today except that it has three sides. I have no idea how I made it out of that math class alive.

I got A’s in most of my math classes (except Geometry, I think I got a B), mostly because I wanted to do well in school and get good grades. I would just study and learn what I needed to know for the tests and then promptly forget . Surprisingly I was pretty good at Algebra but I don’t think I could solve for “x” if someone put a formula in front of me at the point in my life.

Let’s fast forward to today. I work in the marketing department at a credit card processing company. I have a great job that I absolutely love. The only time I have ever needed to use math was to show the percent of change in the number of new merchant accounts that we acquired year over year. Besides, the payment processing industry really revolves around the only kind of math that I like: the addition and subtraction of money.

In school I was always a bit afraid of going out and getting a job in the “real world” because I wasn’t strong in math. My teachers would try to scare me into learning it because they threatened that I would “need it later.” Well, that’s just a big joke to me now. I have never had to apply any high level math concepts in my career and I am doing quite well, thank you. Plus, if I ever need some math-related help, I have my dear friend the search engine to point me in the right direction.

This is a fair amount but seeing this figure doesn’t always have an impact for many people. Well, how about doing the math on that figure over a 5 year period? $12,780. Now we have your attention! If you have been a long time smoker just think what you could do with this amount of money or even just half of it. A luxury family holiday maybe? Down-payment on a house? There is a lot you could do!

This might seem to over simply the fact that there is still the small issue of giving up the smokes. There are many options but one of the latest alternatives to tobacco that has given many people positive results is the e cig. Thousands of people have made the switch and a large percentage of them have managed to kick their nicotine habit altogether. Look out for an honest electronic cigarette review and you won’t go far wrong, it can be a little daunting at first due to the large number of brands out there but stick with it. Their are different price ranges and an initial outlay for the equipment but once you have this all you need to do is buy the cartridges that contain the nicotine.

Take a step back, think about the money you could save and what you could invest that money in.