• Question: Where do you use maths in your job

    Asked by Jackyboi69 to Anya, Daryl, Krishma, Rich, Ronnie on 6 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by 887appg22, hollcap.
    • Photo: Anya Grainger

      Anya Grainger answered on 6 Nov 2016:

      All the time within my section of Engineering. Being a Site Engineer you need to calculate co-ordinates and dimensions for where the structure will be located. This can be established from referring to drawings, so it can be marked out on site ready for construction. Another common calculation I use is finding the volume of something. For example, the volume of a concrete wall. This can then be used to help order the correct amount of concrete to build the wall with. The calculations are normally fairly simple;using addition and subtraction. Sometimes I may have to use trigonometry to work out angles and lengths, for example to set out a curve of a road. You may feel that the mathematics you learn in school will never be used in your daily life?….well I know I did, but I was shocked to learn how much engineering actually requires algebra etc.

    • Photo: Richard Symonds

      Richard Symonds answered on 6 Nov 2016:

      I use maths every day! Shocker I know. A lot of engineering is about calculations. What makes it different to school is it has a point! That’s not to say the maths in school is pointless, but it’s very hard to make it relatable! This of course makes it harder to understand. So yes there is a load of maths but because you know what you will achieve and why, and that there is actually a point to it, such as Anya mentioned trigonometry, it’s much easier!
      Where I use it specifically is;
      Cable sizing
      Working out how much energy a building uses
      Lighting calculations
      Lightning protection calcs
      Basically everything I do in work needs some form of math!

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