20 CHAPTER 1 Critical Thinking Skills b) Determine from your water department (or company) your household’s average daily usage by obtaining the total number of gallons used per year and dividing that amount by 365. How close was your estimate in part (a)? c) Current records indicate that the average household uses about 300 gal of water per day (the average daily usage is 110 gal per person). Based on the number of people in your household, do you believe your household uses more or less than the average amount of water? Explain your answer. 62. Monthly Budget Develop a monthly budget by estimating your monthly income and your monthly output. Your monthly income should equal your monthly output. 63. Estimation Skills Identify three ways that you use estimation in your daily life. Discuss each of them briefly and give examples. 60. A Million Dollars a) Estimate the time it would take, in days, to spend $1 million if you spent $1 a second until the $1 million is used up. Answers will vary. b) Calculate the actual time it would take, in days, to spend $1 million if you spent $1 a second. About 11.6 days Research Activities 61. Water Usage a) About how much water does your household use per day? Use the following data to estimate your household’s daily water usage. Source: EPA.gov Activity Typical Use Running clothes washer 40 gal Bath 35 gal 5-minute shower 25 gal Doing dishes in sink, water running 20 gal Running dishwasher 11 gal Flushing toilet 4 gal Brushing teeth, water running 2 gal To maximize their profits, businesses try to keep their expenses down. We, as individuals, also try to do the same, and we often look for “bargains” or the “best deal.” For example, suppose you need to purchase tacos for your friends and have $93 to spend. How can you determine the maximum number of tacos that can be purchased if a box of 8 tacos costs $10 and a box of 12 tacos costs $14. We’ll answer this question in Example 1. Problem-Solving Procedures SECTION 1.3 LEARNING GOAL Upon completion of this section, you will be able to: 7 Understand and use a general problem-solving procedure. Why This Is Important Problem-solving skills can help you determine solutions to problems you may encounter in everyday life. Solving mathematical puzzles and real-life mathematical problems can be enjoyable. You should work as many exercises in this section as possible. By doing so, you will sample a variety of problem-solving techniques. You can approach any problem by using a general procedure developed by George Polya. Before learning Polya’s problem-solving procedure, let’s consider an example that illustrates the procedure. Eduardo Rgz/Shutterstock
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