You may wonder what connects the mathematics you do in school to the real world.

Will
you ever have to solve an equation or find an angle outside the classroom?
Mathematics is very useful and everyday mathematics is all around us.

EPIDEMIC EMERGENCY – THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID19

The spread of COVID19 has caused more

fear than any other disease in recent times. It
has spread rapidly through China, taking
thousands of lives Americas, Europe, South-
East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean and
has even infected a few people in Africa and
Western Pacific. What you may not realize is
that when a disease starts to get out of
control; mathematics plays a vital role in the
battle to stop the epidemic.
If you can predict how a disease w spread,
then you can take measures to prevent it.
That is why mathematicians are called upon
to use mathematical models to predict hoe an epidemic will develop.
When mathematicians start to use these models, they need the help of people on the
ground to collect accurate data as they need to have a good estimate for the rate of
infection and also the recovery rate.  Models are only as good as the assumptions on
which they are based – if you use a completely inaccurate rate of infection then your
model will not be useful.
There is also a special number called R 0 which is called the “Basic Reproductive
Ratio”.  R0 is defined as being the average number of new cases resulting from an
infected individual.  For example in the case of COVID19,  is thought to be somewhere
between 2.0 and 2.5.  This means that for every infected individual, there will be around
two more new people infected.  Mathematicians have shown that if  is ever greater than
1 then this means a disease will continue to spread whereas if is less than 1, then the
disease will not continue to spread.
One of the challenges with COVID19 is that is has been difficult to estimate accurately,
as there has not always been accurate data about what is going on in countries
affected. Some people may not report infection, or doctors may be unsure how many
people have died or recovered. Mathematicians also want a model lots of different
scenarios, so that governments can prepare variety of outcomes. Mathematicians will
run their models using different rates of infection taking into account how successful
countries have been at isolating patients.
APPLICATIONS OF MATHEMATICS

From activities as everyday as buying sweets or playing your favorite computer game,
mathematics is everywhere. What you learn in mathematics lessons will be very
important for your future.

What do going out for dinner, choosing a shampoo, or planning a holiday all have in
common? You’ve guessed it: mathematics. Numerical and logical thinking play a part in
each of these everyday activities, and in many others. A good understanding of
mathematics in everyday life is essential for making sense of all the numbers and
problems life throw at us.

1. MATHEMATICS’ ON THE MENU

It’s your anniversary and you’ve decided to go out for a
meal with your love one. While you won’t be having
formulas, mathematics is involved at every stage.
Looking down at the menu, you eye up the prices. The
restaurant owner has worked out how much he/she
needs to charge for her food by creating a business
model detailing cost of raw ingredients, staff wages and
so on. He/she also has to calculate how these costs
might change in the future and how many customers
he/she expects. Many restaurants fail within their first
year because of poor mathematical planning.

2. PLANNING A TRIP
Even when you’re looking to spend some time in
the day, mathematics in everyday life is all around
you, because planning a holiday is all about
optimization. Deciding where to visit is just the first
of a whole bunch of questions. When the best time
of year to go? How do I get to the airport on time?
Can I fit all theses clothes in my suitcase?
Answering these questions involves working with
numbers – hotel prices, flight timetables, suitcase
volumes – to come up with the best results.
Once you get there, mathematics still comes in
handy. Mathematics and numbers are universal, so
even if you don’t speak the language you can
understand process and times, and mentally converting currencies lets you check
where you’re spending thousands of pesos. That certainly helps when you’re picking out
souvenirs.
Understanding numbers is a fundamental as knowing how to read. The mathematics
you are learning now is designed to help you. The more you work at it, the more you will
be rewarded with a better understanding of what’s going on in the world around you.
And when you know what’s happening, you can make a difference.

References:

https://www.up.edu.ph/covid-19-forecasts-in-the-philippines-insights-for-policy-making/
https://covid19.who.int/?
gclid=CjwKCAjwj975BRBUEiwA4whRB45Yzr6agyRWzJMZLfw8O-
J10gDC8KfzS8Mu4WgRl1TvD06n24vcTBoCT7wQAvD_BwE
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_modelling_of_infectious_disease
https://www.mathscareers.org.uk/article/mental-arithmetic/
https://www.mathscareers.org.uk/article/use-maths/