Real-Life Math -- Solution
Here's the data you'll have to consider when adding up the fine
for these illegal hunters.
Number of hunters = 6
Number
of deer killed at $800 per deer = 2
Number of raccoons killed at $350
per raccoon = 3
Fine per person for shooting from the road = $50
Fine
per person for spotlighting = $150
6 hunters
x $50 = $300 for shooting from the road
6 hunters x $150 = $900
for spotlighting
$800 per deer x 2 deer = $1,600
$350
per raccoon x 3 raccoons = $1,050
You tally the
numbers to come up with a total fine:
$300 + $900 + $1,600
+ $1,050 = $3,850
The total cost of the citations for
these hunters is $3,850.
"Math skills are tremendously important,"
says Mark Robbins. He's a former conservation officer who now teaches at a
college program in natural resources law enforcement.
"This job is
not just dealing with the hunting and fishing crowd," he says. For example,
conservation officers also have to deal with natural resources businesses,
like commercial fishermen. In a case where a commercial fisherman breaks the
law, a conservation officer has to audit the catches and calculate numbers
with precision. If they get something wrong, a whole court case can get thrown
out!
"Math is important -- it's more than counting fish," he observes.
The
math skills required are basic math skills, like adding, subtracting, multiplying
and dividing, says Robbins. It's not trigonometry. Still, officers have to
be competent in math, even when dealing with large numbers. They have to be
able to confirm their calculations.