WARNING: Dangerous mathematics ahead! Proceed at your own risk. Math can be exciting, thrilling, and help you keep your head in hazardous situations? Yes, yes and yes-when explained in the right way, of course! Sean Connolly takes a whole new, treacherous approach to this often intimidating subject, taking the concept of math word problems to the extreme.
Disaster awaits at every turn in this book of 24 life-or-death stories, in which you have to use math to survive. Multiply and divide fractions to figure out how long a 40-gallon barrel of water will last 10 men stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean - before they go mad with thirst. Use linear equations to solve for how long a hapless stormchaser has to get away from a deadly tornado. Uncover mathematical patterns to help an archaeologist escape from an airtight ancient Egyptian tomb. Use probability to figure out which door you would choose if your life depended on it: the one that will lead you to freedom, or the one that will lead you to an executioner's chambers.
Connolly explains the solutions to these word problems skillfully and patiently, breaking each question down to its basic parts and offering strategies and tips along the way. Each problem is followed by a "Math Lab," an activity related to the challenge in each chapter, designed to bring math to life. First you'll rescue the king's sage (who is locked in a tower) by understanding how to use shadows and similar triangles to measure the height of the tower. Then you'll learn how to use those same concepts in your own backyard to figure out the height of a tree!
Aligns with new National Common Core Standards for mathematics in grades 5, 6, and 7. This is math so important, your life depends on it.
