Real-Life Math -- Solution
Tire A
Braking: worth 50 percent
Braking = 4 x 0.5
Braking
= 2
Handling: worth 30 percent
Handling = 5 x 0.3
Handling =
1.5
Ride comfort: worth 20 percent
Ride comfort = 4 x 0.2
Ride
comfort = 0.8
Total score: 4.3
Tire B
Braking
= 3 x 0.5
Braking = 1.5
Handling = 5 x 0.3
Handling = 1.5
Ride
comfort = 5 x 0.2
Ride comfort = 1
Total score: 4
Tire
A receives a total score of 4.3, while Tire B receives 4.
Automotive
engineers use math all the time. For example, automotive engineers
study fluid dynamics to calculate the rate of flow in fuel systems.
"In
explaining vehicle dynamics, you're constantly relying on physics terms
and physics formulas," says Jennifer Stockburger. She's an automotive
test engineer for a consumer magazine.
"In automotive testing, you need
to understand thermodynamics and the basic concepts of an internal combustion
engine, which is a whole series of formulae," says Stockburger. "There are
computer programs, obviously, to do all this now, but you still have to understand
what to plug in."