Math Concept Reader MCR g6 take your math to work

Math Concept Reader
Take Your
Math to Work
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DIGITAL FINAL PROOF
Expedition:
Antarctica
by Aenea Mickelsen
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Copyright © Gareth Stevens, Inc. All rights reserved.
Developed for Harcourt, Inc., by Gareth Stevens, Inc. This edition published by Harcourt,
Inc., by agreement with Gareth Stevens, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced
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HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Inc., registered in the United
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Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 13: 978-0-15-360205-4
ISBN 10: 0-15-360205-8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 175 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
Math Concept Reader
by Susan R. Gregson
Take Your
Math to Work
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Last year, Matthew Keller went to work with his dad
on Take Your Child to Work Day (TYCTWD). Mr. Keller
is the art director at an advertising agency. His dad showed
Matthew how he uses the computer to create graphic designs
for magazine ads. Matthew was amazed to see the number of
people who work together to create a single ad.
This year, Matthew is spending TYCTWD with his mom.
Matthew’s mom works for a research firm. Matthew wants to
learn how to find data and present it in different ways, such as
in tables, graphs, and maps.
Matthew and three of his classmates are entering the Math
Mania Contest later in the month. Their contest entry will
show how to use a Geographic Information System, or GIS,
to explore data about a community. A GIS can be used to find
data on land use, population growth, animal migration, water
quality, and much more.
Matthew’s mom promised to show him and his Math
Mania teammates how to use GIS Web sites. The sites are
one-stop places to go for federal, state, and local geographic
information, or data.

Chapter 1:
A Special Day Away
from School
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On the morning of TYCTWD, Mrs. Keller meets
Matthew and his teammates in the school office. She has
already spoken to the students’ families to get permission to
drive them to her workplace. Each student brought a signed

note from home to give to the school secretary so that they
can leave with Mrs. Keller. She will bring them back just
before the end of the school day.
Matthew’s math teacher, Mr. Mason, is joining them on
the TYCTWD field trip. Matthew introduces his mom to his
teammates Patrick, Shamari, and Chi-Lan. Mr. Mason shakes
Mrs. Keller’s hand and thanks her for including him on the
trip to her research firm.
As Matthew’s mom drives the group to the office, she
tells them about the company and why she chose a career
in research. Mrs. Keller likes her job in research because she
gets to find the answers to questions. Once they arrive at
the research firm, Mrs. Keller brings her special guests to the
research library.

Matthew
Keller’s mom
brings him,
three of his
classmates,
and his math
teacher to
work for Take
Your Children
to Work Day
(TYCTWD).
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Spring and Fall Shoe Sales
Sandals

Tennis Shoes
Slippers
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
Number Sold
Types of Shoes
Spring
Fall
The research library has several computer stations linked to the
Internet. Shelves of books line the walls and a large table is at the center of
the room. Shamari whispers to Patrick, “It looks just like a library.”
Mrs. Keller smiles at Shamari. She tells the students that they don’t have
to be quite as quiet as they do in a library.
“Well, we probably don’t want to be as loud as gym class, though,” adds
Mr. Mason.
Matthew points to an easel with a graph on it. “Mr. Mason,” he says,
“That double-bar graph looks like it has some interesting data.”
The students look closer at the graph. “I wonder what kind of
information was collected?” says Chi-Lan.
Mrs. Keller explains that another employee works with a client, or
customer, who sells different types of shoes. The client wanted a graph that
would compare which types of shoes sold during the different seasons.
“That is just the first draft of one of the graphs he made for the client,”
Mrs. Keller says. “He will share this draft with the team and then we will
give him suggestions for changes.”


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Mrs. Keller tells her visitors that sometimes her colleagues,
or coworkers, will create a draft graph. “We try to decide the
best way to show statistics and data,” she tells the students.
“Sometimes it is easier to understand information if we show
it in a circle graph, but other times it makes more sense to
show data in a bar graph or line graph. Another option is to
use maps to show information.”
She says that the chart on the easel is just an idea in the
works and that it will be redrawn several times. “Once we
agree on how we should display data, we create our graph
or map on the computer. We make sure there is enough
information on the graph so readers can figure out the story
we are trying tell,” Mrs. Keller says.
Mrs. Keller tells the team that she wants to help them with
their Math Mania project. She asks everyone to join her at a
computer and the students gather around her.
*
This map of North America from the U.S. Geological Survey is
one example of how a GIS displays data.
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Chapter 2:
Mission Possible:
Community Data
Mrs. Keller grabs an atlas, or a large book of maps, from
the shelf before she sits at the computer. “I know you want to
show data on the community in your Math Mania project,”
she says to Matthew. Shamari tells Mrs. Keller that one of the

things she wants to find out is how many people live near
their school.
Matthew’s mom opens the atlas and points to a number of
maps of their state. She explains that it is a good idea to collect
information from books, atlases, government sources, and the
Internet.
Patrick pages through the atlas and finds a map of the state
with cities and towns. The map shows population ranges for
some of the largest cities. Patrick knows the names of many
of the cities listed in the atlas, but he does not see the name of
his town.
“That’s a great start,” says Mr. Mason. “How can we find
our town?”
Chi-Lan wonders how they can get the data for the area
around their middle school in Pennsylvania.

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Mrs. Keller shows the students a site on the Internet. The
site has links to information about the United States and its
states, cities, and towns. “This is a site with GIS data,” says Mrs.
Keller. “People can use a GIS to investigate different types of
data that can be shown as a map.”
Shamari asks if they can find the population for the area
around their middle school. Patrick asks if they can find out
the number of males and females in their borough, or town.
Mrs. Keller shows the students how to search for
information on Downingtown in Chester County,
Pennsylvania. The site tells them about data available online
from American Fact Finder.

Mrs. Keller explains that American Fact Finder is a service
of the United States Census Bureau. Every ten years the
Census Bureau collects information about people living in the
United States and Puerto Rico.
Chi-Lan points out the search box on the American Fact
Finder Web page. “We can enter the school’s ZIP code and get
a current fact sheet on the area!” she says. “That will be great
data for our project.”
Matthew enters the school’s ZIP code and the population
data appear.

The students enter their middle school’s ZIP code into a GIS to
find out the population of the area.
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Percentage
Percentage of Males
and Females
in Downingtown,
Pennsylvania, and U.S.
Populations
Downingtown
United States
10
20
30
40
50
60
70

80
90
Female Male
0
The students learn that the most recent information on
their community is from the United States Census. The data
were collected in the year 2000.
“The government is updating their data now to include
even more recent information,” explains Mrs. Keller. “Current
data is not always available, so we sometimes need to find
additional sources for the best data.”
“In 2000, the area around the students’ school had a total
population of 41,450. There were 21,063 females and 20,387
males,” says Chi-Lan.
She continues to read the online fact sheet. “Of the entire
Downingtown area population, 50.8 percent were females and
49.2 percent were males,” she says. “That’s compared to 50.9
percent females and 49.1 percent males for the United States
during that same time.”
Mr. Mason asks, “What might
be a good way to display the
population data, and the number
of males and females?”
“We could make a circle
graph,” Shamari says.
Patrick has a different idea.
“Let’s do a bar graph instead. The
bar graph will present both sets
of data more clearly than a circle
graph.”

Mrs. Keller agrees that this is
an excellent way to present the
information.

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Just then, one of Mrs. Keller’s coworkers arrives with
lunch for them. “Great time for a break,” Matthew’s mom says.
“Thank you,” Patrick says before he takes a drink from
a carton of milk and enjoys a bite of a sandwich. The other
guests join Patrick and begin to eat lunch.
Mr. Mason asks Mrs. Keller, “What types of research do
you do on a typical day?”
Matthew’s mom tells her visitors about a project she is
working on for a construction company. She says that her
research varies depending on the needs of her client. Her
current client wants a population report, too. “They need to
know the population of the states in the United States and the
thirteen provinces of Canada,” she says.
Mrs. Keller explains that the client builds homes and
schools, and they want to expand their business in the United
States and Canada. The client will use the data to figure out
which states and provinces are growing the fastest. Those areas
will need new homes and schools the most, so they may be
good places to expand the construction business.

One of Mrs. Keller’s clients builds homes and schools. They use
data to decide where to expand their business.
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Population Data
Location Population in 2005 Population in 2000
Arizona, United States 5,939,292 5,130,632
Delaware, United States 843,524 783,600
California, United States 36,132,147 33,871,648
Florida, United States 17,789,864 15,982,378
Georgia, United States 9,072,576 8,186,453
Texas, United States 22,859,968 20,851,820

Albe
rta, Canda 3,277,582 2,997,236
Ontario, Canada 12,558,669 11,669,344
Quebec, Canada 7,597,768 7,372,448
Mrs. Keller walks to a desk and picks up a folder that
contains population data she found online. She shows the
students a table with states and their populations. There is
another table that shows the population of the Canadian
provinces. The information is from the years 2000 through
2005. Mrs. Keller points out that she picked five states and
three provinces with the greatest increase in population from
2000 to 2005.
Shamari asks, “If I look at Arizona, as an example, how
do I figure out how much the population grew?” Mrs. Keller
tells the students she used subtraction to find the increase in
the population.
Arizona population in 2005 = 5,939,292
Arizona population in 2000 = 5,130,632
5,939,292
– 5,130,632
808,660

The population in Arizona grew by 808,660 people.
Shamari nods and says “I see that you subtracted the
population in 2000 from the population in 2005 to get the
increase in the population during that time.”
10
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State Population Growth
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
40,000,000
35,000,000
30,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
0
Population
Year
California
Texas
Florida
Georgia
Arizona

Province Population Growth
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
Population
Year
Ontario
Quebec
Alberta
2000
After analyzing the data, Chi-Lan says, “Arizona,
California, Florida, Georgia, and Texas are the states with the
fastest-growing populations.” Mr. Mason asks Chi-Lan to
clarify her statement. “There are different ways to measure
how a state grows,” she says. “The five states in the table had
the greatest increase in the number of people who lived there.”
Patrick adds, “In Canada, the populations of Alberta,
Ontario, and Quebec grew the fastest.” Matthew wonders
how they could put both countries in a graph.
“I would use two line graphs,” says Shamari.

“I would not put both countries on one graph,” says
Patrick. “The differences between their populations is too
great to fit within one range of numbers on one graph.”
Mrs. Keller nods and adds that one graph with eight lines
for the states and provinces might be confusing. It is clearer to
put the provinces on one graph and the states on another.
11
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Chapter 3:
Math at School Turns
into Math at Work
The vice president of the company, Mr. Alonzo, stops in to
greet the visitors. “We’re glad to have you here today,” he says.
“I use the math I learned in school at my job every day, and so
do most of the other people who work here.”
As Mr. Alonzo leaves, Mrs. Keller tells the students that
she knows Matthew’s homework last week was a lot like
one of her projects. Shamari asks Mrs. Keller to explain the
similarities between their math homework and her project.
“Remember when Mr. Mason asked you to find three
crops grown in this country?” Mrs. Keller asks.
“Mr. Mason told us to use a graph or table to show how
much of each crop is grown each year,” Patrick answers.
Mrs. Keller explains that she is gathering similar data for
a small food company. “The company wants to know the
amount of tomatoes, soybeans, and sesame seeds that people
eat in ten different countries. They sell a snack mix with
soybeans. They sell a healthy vegetable dip with tomatoes.
They also sell an energy bar made with sesame seeds.”

1
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Chapter 3:
Math at School Turns
into Math at Work
“We have information from our homework on the
amount of tomatoes that were consumed, or eaten, in the
United States!” Chi-Lan says.
Matthew says they found information on tomato
consumption on a Web site that the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) runs. He thinks they
may be able to use that site to find the same data on soybeans
and sesame seeds. He is sure the other countries that Mrs.
Keller’s client is interested in are listed in the data, too.
The students gather around a computer. They show Mrs.
Keller where to find the data. “This is a real example of
school math at work,” says Mr. Mason.
Chi-Lan thinks Mrs. Keller should show the data in bar
graphs. Mrs. Keller thinks that it would work best to put the
soybeans and tomatoes in a double-bar graph.
“These two foods are eaten in similar amounts,” Mrs.
Keller says. “Sesame seeds are eaten in much smaller amounts
compared to tomatoes and soybeans. Many people eat sesame
seeds. If we show this data on a bar graph with soybeans
and tomatoes, though, it will look like people don’t eat any
sesame seeds.”
1
A client wants to know
how much tomatoes, soy

beans, and sesame seeds
people in ten different
countries eat.
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How Much is Eaten?
Norway
250
Amount in Grams
per Person
Country
200
150
100
50
0
Sweden
Australia
Canada
Netherlands
Belgium
Iceland
USA
Japan
Ireland
Tomatoes
Soybeans
How Much is Eaten?
Norway
1.0

Amount in Grams
per Person
Country
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
Sweden
Australia
Canada
Netherlands
Belgium
Iceland
USA
Japan
Ireland
Sesame Seeds
1.2
1.4
1.6
Mrs. Keller and two students create a double-bar graph showing
how much tomatoes and soybeans are eaten in ten countries. Mr.
Mason and two students make a graph showing the amounts of
sesame seeds eaten in the same ten countries.
After a while, they all meet to look at the graphs. Chi-Lan looks
at the soybean numbers. “That’s interesting,” she says. “It looks like
Americans eat more soybeans than people from Japan. I would have
predicted that Japanese people eat more soy than Americans do.”
Mrs. Keller says she is double-checking the data. She wants

to make sure the data are correct. “You spotted a good example
of how data can look misleading. I need to make sure we know
exactly what the data show.”
1
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Mr. Mason checks his watch. He says, “We need to get back
to school soon because Take Your Child To Work Day is almost
over.”
While they tidy the room, Patrick asks Mrs. Keller what she
thinks the food company will do with the data. She says that
they can use the research to decide where to sell more of their
products.
“I see,” says Shamari. “Their tomato dip might sell much
better in the United States, where people already eat a lot of
tomatoes.”
Matthew says, “Using the data in the bar graph, we know
that Ireland is one of the countries with the lowest amounts of
tomatoes eaten.”
Mr. Mason explains that tomatoes might not grow well in
Ireland. “We cannot tell from this data whether or not the Irish
like tomatoes.”
Patrick says, “We would need more data before we could
make that kind of statement.”
“That sounds like a great homework idea,” Mr. Mason says.
“Can we save that assignment for after Math Mania?”
Matthew asks. “We learned a lot of things today that will help us
make our entry great. I want to get to work on it right away!”
1
Mrs. Keller

explains how
the food
company might
use the data.
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1
Glossary
atlas a book of maps
client a customer to a person or company that provides a
service
colleague a person who you work with
Geographic Information System (GIS) tools used to
capture, store, manage, display, and analyze geographical
information
population the total number of people in a group or area
research using a system to collect data and facts
statistics data that uses numbers
United States Census Bureau a United States
government agency that provides data about the people and
the economy of the nation
Photo credits: cover, title page, p. 15: © David Young-Wolff/PhotoEdit
Inc.; p. 3: © Tony Freeman/PhotoEdit Inc.; p. 5: U.S. Geological
Survey; p. 7: Sue Gregson; pp. 9, 13 (left): Photos.com; p. 13 (center):
Anthony-Masterson/The Image Bank/Getty Images; p. 13: (right) DAJ/
Getty Images
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Think and Respond
1. Use the table on page 10. By how many people did the

population of Delaware increase from the years 2000
to 2005?
2. Use the graph on page 14. In which country do people
eat the least amount of sesame seeds?
3. Use the graph on page 14. The small food company
will sell its snack mix in the three countries that eat
the most soybeans. In which three countries is the
company most likely to sell its new soybean snack mix?
4. The small food company will sell its snack mix in the
three countries that eat the most soybeans. Use the
graph on page 14. In which three countries is the health
food company most likely to sell their new soybean
snack mix?
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