How can numbers and math be useful in real life?

Math and numbers are used all

the time in the real world, even if it does not always feel like that when you are sitting in
Algebra or Geometry. This project will allow you to take a mathematical idea and apply
them in a meaningful way.
What you need to do is simple in theory; however, even simple ideas can be very
powerful. Follow these steps and you will do well:
1. Think of the one area that you think the school really needs to improve and why.
This will work much better if you focus on one area, not everything that you don’t
like about the school.
2. Create a 5-10 question survey that you will use to gather other students’ opinions
on the area that you feel needs improvement. For the most part, multiple-choice
questions will suffice. Each survey should have at least one question that allows
participants to answer in paragraph form.
a. An example of a multiple-choice question could be: How many hours a
week do you spend studying?
i. 1-2 hours
ii. 3-4 hours
iii. 5-6 hours
iv. more than 6 hours
3. Have everyone in class and at least 10 students from outside the class, if possible,
take your survey.
4. Write a 1 page paper that explains how students (you), teachers (me), and
administrators can use this information to improve the school and make it a better
class for everyone,
5. The winning essay from each will be submitted to the principals for consideration.
Detailed instructions on how to use Google Docs to complete the project.

1) Go to http://www.google.com.
2) In the top of the screen, click on more, then click Documents.

3) Click Get started to create an account. You will need an email address. When you
are done creating your account, you will need to check your email to confirm. In
the email, there will be a link for you to click on.

4) Now, you can click Documents and log in.

5) This will bring you to the main screen. This is where all of the documents that
you create will live.

6) Click New, then Form.

7) Give your form a title.

8) In the Question Title space, type your actual question.

9) In the Question Type drop-down menu, choose the type of question you want to
ask. You can use: Multiple Choice, Scale (1-n) (On a scale of 1-5, how much do
you like…), Checkboxes (check all that apply), and Paragraph Text.

10) Provide any answer choices if necessary.

11) Click Done.

12) Repeat these steps until you have all of your questions completed. Then click
Save when you are done. Make sure you have the teacher look at your survey
before you publish the final survey.

13) At the bottom of the screen, there is a link. On http://www.litteacher.com, start a

new discussion topic and says something similar to the following” “Hello. My survey
is on what students like to read (put your topic). My survey is located at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pEsck-L8cImrKbTkCZVPOBw.
Please take the survey and tell me what you think.

14) Now you have to wait for people to take you survey. Encourage people outside of
class to take the survey as well. It does not keep track of names, so no one will be
embarrassed. When enough time has passed, go back to the Google Docs start page
and click on whatever you named your survey.
15) Google Docs organizes each answer into boxes so that you can read individual
responses.

16) To see a graph of the results, click More actions, then Edit form.

17) Click View Responses.

18) Google Docs automatically provides you with graphs of the answers to each
question.
19) Print out the page of graphs. You have to hand this in with your essay. Before
a principal is ever going to take your suggestions, he/she is going to want you to have
facts to prove that you are correct. These graphs are your facts.
20) Lastly, take some time to think about and reflect on these graphs and the answers
to your questions. Knowing this information, you have to write a paper that is at
least 1 page double-spaced. When you are done, print it out and staple it to the
graphs. Use these questions to help you write your paper:
• How can my fellow students and I use this information to make the school
better?
• How can my teachers use this information to make the school better?
• How can the principals use this information to make the school better?
• Why is each question important?