Real-Life Math
An economic development officer is very interested in the age of
his town's population. Take, for example, a town with an average age of 71.
That wouldn't be a good place to build a lot of nightclubs. But in a town
where the average age is 29, it's not a good idea to tear down all the schools
and universities in favor of retirement homes and drugstores.
In both
cases, there would be a conflict of interest. The moves would simply not be
in the best interests of the townsfolk.
"Math is very important in
my field," says economic development officer Jacques Dube. "All projections
and calculations require at least a basic knowledge of mathematical equations
and concepts. Using math to come to a solution gives us answers we may communicate
to set strategies into motion."
You are on the town planning committee.
As part of a new economic development strategy, you and your co-workers must
come to agreement on which segment of the town's population is growing the
fastest. Then you will be better able to design an effective plan.
Here
is the town's recent population age data:
| Exposed | Cases | Controls | |
| Yes | A | B |
| No | C | D |
What percentage of the town's population did each
segment represent in the past year? You will be adding up each segment's total
for a grand total and divide each segment's total into the grand total to
see it expressed as a percentage.