Alana, 10, explains how math shows up everywhere: piloting planes, calculating fuel for road trips, running her family's shoe shop. She sees coding in Scratch and algebra as math too, and describes it all as practical techniques for real life.
Hello Alana, can you hear me? I can't hear you yet, try again. I think I can hear you.
Hello Mr. Holmström.
How are you?
Okay. I'm good, and you?
I'm well, thank you. Where are you going?
I'm not really going anywhere right now, we're moving Airbnbs today. And my dad and mom have to make one more final trip, um, until we can finally move in to the new place. Oh, the new Airbnb.
That's very exciting. Congratulations. What's cool about it?
Thank you. Well, it's a huge— it has a huge backyard. Our room is awesome.
Those are great things.
I just like it really.
That's fantastic. So, um, it sounds like there's a little lag. Can you hear me, or is there a lag for you?
I can hear you.
Okay, so I was wondering if we can figure out what math is. How would— what would you say math is?
Math is maybe a technique that you use in life. Like if you were in an airplane and you knew math, like all different types of math, you could probably use math to drive that airplane. Like maybe how many, um, how much speed you're at, or how many or how much fuel you have, or maybe what time it is until you maybe land.
Got it. So math is a technique that— you said it really well, I'm trying to remember it. Math is a technique that does what exactly?
Like, it helps you in like stuff. Like in my example, like if you were driving an airplane and you didn't know math, You probably don't know maybe at least what type of fuel you— or how much fuel you have, or maybe what time plus another time that you have to be in both places.
So does your dad need to use math to drive the car?
Um, I don't think so, but he uses math in other things.
Like what?
Maybe in his businesses for family shoes. Maybe he needs to add up all the sales he got in the past year, maybe.
Okay, so financial issues. That makes a lot of sense. So math is a tool that lets you kind of figure certain kinds of things out. And it can help people figure out things in airplanes and it can help businesses figure things out. Why is it that the pilot may need to know math but the car driver doesn't need to know math?
Um, because to me, maybe a car seems easier to me, so maybe you don't need to use as much. Like maybe in a car, at least you would just need to read something that includes maybe numbers and/or you have to add up Like maybe how much fuel do you have until maybe you get to a certain place, like maybe the hospital or something?
Okay, so suppose you— let's, let's play with this car example. Suppose you have half a tank of gas left, and suppose normally you can drive 200 miles on half a tank of gas. Suppose the hospital is 180 miles. Do you think you need to stop and get gas or not?
Yeah.
Why?
Oh wait, no, because that's too much. So you would have at least 30, 30, at least a quarter or a quarter and a half or something of fuel when you get there, so no.
Are you doing math when you try to figure this out?
For me, yes, because I know that 200 is more than 180. So you would have— so you would have more fuel just at least to get to a gas station when you get to the hospital.
Okay, and suppose instead of, um, the hospital being 200 miles away, so same situation, You have half a tank of gas. Half a tank of gas normally gets you 200 miles. This time the hospital is 230 miles away. Were you going to have enough gas?
No, so you would go to the gas station and get at least a full tank.
Okay, so are these cases when you might need to use math when you're driving a car?
Yeah, and maybe Yeah, that's an example.
Okay, um, so math is a tool, so it helps us in businesses and maybe helps us figure out like distances and how far we need to go. Do you have any other cases where you use math?
Hmm, oh, maybe when you're building something, like you're an engineer or something, you have to measure, which is like math. You have to measure maybe the amount of maybe dirt or maybe clay or wood you have to have, that's math.
Okay, um, fair enough, absolutely. You are still— are you still learning how to code? Are you still learning how to program computers?
Yes, I am, and I'm really just starting in Scratch right now, so it's like building blocks and stuff.
Is there any math in that at all or none at all?
Um, I think so, like for me in math Maybe this is probably measurement, like maybe move 10 steps or maybe 100 steps, and 0 times 0, y 0 is like in the middle. To me, that's kind of math.
Okay, so do you, do you like using math?
I do, actually. Sometimes it's kind of fun.
That's great, that's great. What kind of math— you are schooling at home, right? What kind of math are you learning at home these days?
Um, some, like, maybe at least a few weeks ago my dad taught me how to do algebra a little.
Wonderful.
Um, and when, when I do, like, stuff that I have to do for school and maybe I don't know what to do, they help me and, like, maybe make up like their own examples and just help me with that.
Got it. And when your dad taught you algebra, how would you explain algebra?
Um, I kind of forgot, so I'm just going to try my— do my best. Um, so maybe you say— yeah, I forgot, but no problem. I forgot.
You can ask your dad to re-explain it, okay? Yeah. Okay, I've got another call coming up, so I'm gonna let you have a good move-in, and I'm so happy you have a really cool house to move into. That's fun. So hopefully you'll have a lot of fun playing in that big backyard, okay?
Mm-hmm.
Okay, bye-bye.
