Additional Real World Applications

for Radical Expressions

Section 5-6
March 2, 2011
Fellow: Brooke Odle
Teacher: Ms. Sanchez
Saint Vincent Academy

Financial Planning
A financial planner has been asked to
determine the inflation rate for
homes.
To calculate the inflation of homes
that increases from p1 to p2 over n
years, the annual rate of inflation
(expressed as 1
a decimal) can be
n

p
2
modeled
as:
i
1

p1

Medicine
Doctors can approximate the Body
Surface Area of an adult (in square
meters) using an index called BSA
where H is height in centimeters and
W is weight in kilograms:

BSA

H W
3600

Geology/Meterology/Oceanography
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is
responsible for monitoring earthquakes
that could potentially cause tsunamis in
the Pacific Ocean. Through measuring the
water level and calculating the speed of a
tsunami, scientists can predict arrival
times of tsunamis.
The speed (in meters per second) at
which a tsunami moves is determined by
the depth d (in meters) of
ocean:
g isthe
acceleration
due to

g d

gravity, which is 9.8 meters

per square second

Electrical Engineering
To measure voltage (V, measured in
volts), electrical engineers use the
following formula:

V PR

Where P is
power
(measured in
watts)
and R is
resistance

Physics/Engineering
Physicists and engineers may study
how force affects objects. A force is
a vector (magnitude and direction)
and vectors have components based
on direction (x, y, z). To find the total
force (resultant force), the following
F
formula can be used:
y Fx

Ft F F F
2
x

2
y

2
z

F
z

Physics/Engineering
Example: Research on shoulder
movement during wheelchairResearcher
propulsion
s use the
SmartWhee
l to
determine
the forces
at the hand
Image courtesy of outwhen it
front.com
2
2
2
hits the
Ft Fx Fy Fz
handrim for
each
push
Image courtesy of Dubowsky et al, 2009: Dubowsky SR, Sisto SA, and Langrana NA. 2009. Comparison
of
kinematics, kinetics, and EMG throughout wheelchair propulsion in able-bodied and persons with paraplegia: An:
integrative approach. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 131.

Supply Chain Management/Business

You are a purchasing manager for a
medical device company. You are
responsible for directing the way the
company buys, stores, and sells supplies to
other companies.
You want to reduce the companys
warehousing costs by ordering the supplies
needed to produce the medical devices
just in time to use them.

Supply Chain Management/Business

In order to determine the most economic order
quantity E for parts used in production of the
medical devices, you need to use the following
formula:
2* A* S
E
I
A is the quantity the plant will use in one year
S is the cost of setup for making the device
I is the cost of holding one unit in stock for one year

Find E if S = $6,000, A = 25, and I = $140.

Answer: 46 (You cant order a fractional quantity, so
round down to 46.)