Verified Document

Math Explains The World The Term Paper

Related Topics:

First, math courses are required as part of college work in the pursuit of most degrees in the health care field. The level of required achievement is different, depending on the degree sought. For example, a student pursuing an LPN may take a semester or two of college algebra. A pre-med student is often required to take one or two semesters of calculus. A student pursuing a master's degree in health care administration will take courses in statistics, finance and accounting. The master's candidate can perhaps more easily see the relevance of the required math courses toward the future career. For the nursing student studying algebra or the pre-med student struggling through calculus, the correlation between academic study and actual practice may be unclear. They may wonder why they must undertake these courses, which seem to have little to do with the work in which they will eventually be engaged. Reduced to its essence, mathematics is about problem solving. So, too, is the health care profession. Patients do not feel well. They exhibit symptoms. Doctors investigate so that healing can take place. Perhaps a care center has outgrown its physical facility; administrators may develop a fundraising campaign with the goal of building a new wing that will accommodate more patients or house the latest diagnostic equipment. Although mathematics may not be a major part of these endeavors -- outside the calculations needed for prescriptions, for example, or the accounting practices employed to track contributions -- it is the process of problem solving that math teaches us, and which we can apply to these and other situations that present themselves in the field.

Math teaches us that problem solving is a logical process. There are a series of steps that must be followed if there is any hope of reaching a conclusion. As Stein points out, not all mathematical questions have answers -- at least, not that can be found at the present time. It is not the answers fail to exist; we just do not currently have the tools or the information to find them. This is also true in health care, where the government has yet to find a solution to skyrocketing...

There are still no cures for cancer, Alzheimer's disease, AIDS, diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease, among others. We can treat the symptoms of the common cold -- at a cost of nearly $40 billion a year (Marketplace, 2011) -- but a cure is still elusive. Just as there are now solutions to math conundrums that once seemed impossible to solve, so, too, have advances been made in health care to address the problems mentioned, and others as well.
Perhaps the lesson that math best teaches is that there is a solution to every problem. We may not be able to figure it out, but that does not mean a solution does not exist. The solution may be one that surprises us; we had an idea to solve a problem, but it turned out differently than expected. For many of life's problems, as with math, there is often more than one way to arrive at a solution. In some instances, there is even more than one correct solution.

Thinking like a mathematician does not necessarily require the use of numbers, symbols, or geometric shapes. It requires a definition of the problem and a logical process towards resolution. The average student may argue against learning math beyond the basics needed to balance a checkbook, calculate the number of board feet needed to build a tool shed, double a recipe, or figure out how many miles a new car gets to the gallon. Learning to "do" math is learning how to problem solve. It is an essential ability for everyone to develop, no matter how the skill is applied in professional and personal life.

References

Marketplace Money. (2011). The cost of the common cold. American Public Media.

Retrieved from http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/01/21/mm-why-its-

so-expensive-to-get-a-cold/

Paris, N. (2007). Hawking to experience zero gravity. London Telegraph 26 Apr 2007.

Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1549770/Hawking-to-experience-zero-gravity.html

Stein, J.D. (2009). How math explains the world. New York: Harper Collins eBooks [Kindle

Edition].

Sources used in this document:
References

Marketplace Money. (2011). The cost of the common cold. American Public Media.

Retrieved from http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/01/21/mm-why-its-

so-expensive-to-get-a-cold/

Paris, N. (2007). Hawking to experience zero gravity. London Telegraph 26 Apr 2007.
Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1549770/Hawking-to-experience-zero-gravity.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Math Curriculum Science and Its
Words: 4174 Length: 13 Document Type: Term Paper

Susan K. Peterson and associates (1988) conducted a study on the impact of the use of manipulatives on different kinds of students and concluded that the result of using manipulative was positive for both gifted and disabled students (Peterson, Mercer & O'Shea, 1988). Joseph Martinez (1987) also explained that the use of solid manipulatives made studying math more fun as well as less hectic and demanding for most of

Math Achievement African-American Vs. White
Words: 6588 Length: 20 Document Type: Term Paper

In grade four white males performing "At or Above Basic" math skills is stated at 90% while black males were performing at only 59% "At or Above Basic" skill levels. White males in the "At or Above Proficient" skills level is stated at 49% with black males in this category stated at a mere 13%. The following labeled Figure 2 shows the statistical report of NAEP (2005) in relation to

Math Got to Do With
Words: 1598 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

This has had the unintended consequence of increasing the dropout rate, as students who fail to perform and to be promoted leave the schools altogether. Many good, creative teachers also drop out, frustrated with the stringent controls placed upon their teaching style. ELL (English Language Learner) students are at a particular disadvantage for taking standardized tests, given the frequently arcane wording of the exams. The tests are often poorly written,

Using Math Vocabulary
Words: 870 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Math Vocabulary Literature Review The nation's public and private school systems have demonstrated that there are far too many examples where large numbers of students do not positively excel. Unfortunately, math success has become one of the more obvious shortcomings of the educational system. "Mathematics education seems particularly prone to the belief in the single new idea: do this (whether using calculators, teaching mathematics through problem solving, working collaboratively, stressing the

Low Math Scores of American Elementary Students
Words: 2870 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Low math scores of American elementary students has been a major issue in education for some time. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) conducted in 1995 showed the extent of the problem. The TIMMS study compared students in 42 countries, allowing American students to be compared with international students. The study rated the math ability of American students as adequate in fourth grade and poor in twelfth grade

Integrating Literature Into the Math
Words: 1826 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Proposal

It enlivens what many people see as the isolating abstractness of mathematics Lipsey and Pasternack). A study of the literature on this issue brings clearly to the fore the realization of the importance of the integration and intersection between various subjects that were in the past seen to be separate and even in opposition to one another. There are an increasing number of cogent and well researched books and articles which

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now