Real-Life Math -- Solution
Divide the number of unemployed people by the population in each
year. Multiply the result by 100 to get the percentage (unemployment rate).
1929:
1,301 / 20,012 x 100 = 6.5 percent
1930: 2,347 / 20,410 x 100
= 11.5 percent
1931: 3,194 / 20,475 x 100 = 15.6 percent
1932:
4,757 / 20,506 x 100 = 23.2 percent
1933: 4,652 / 21,100 x 100
= 22.0 percent
Obviously, Basketville was very
affected by the Great Depression. The peak unemployment was in 1932.
To
get the percentage increase in the unemployment rate between 1932 and 1929,
when it all started, you divide the highest by the lowest.
23.2
/ 6.5 x 100 = 357 percent
The unemployment rate
in 1932 was 357 percent greater than it was in 1929 -- a huge difference for
three years.
"There are areas of history where... you go
into a lot of statistics and demographics," says historian C. Morgan Grefe.
"Or maybe you even go into the history of math or science."
Historians
also use math when they're applying for grants and fellowships, and when they're
developing budgets.
"Let's say you want a fellowship for your research
-- you need to create a budget that goes along with your application," says
Grefe.
Grefe develops educational programs for a historical society.
She also writes grant applications and manages budgets for the society. "I
use math every day," she says.