Walking for Water

   

Part

1

:

 

Your water consumption

Survey result

Typical water use at home

Bath

A “full tub” varies, of course, but

3

6 gallons is a good average amount.
Tip: Taking a shower instead of a bath should save water.

Shower

Old showers use up to

5

gallons of water per minute. Water-saving shower heads produce about

2

gallons per minute.
Tip: Taking a shorter shower using a low-flow showerhead saves water.

Teeth brushing

<1 gallon. Newer bath faucets use about 1 gallon per minute, whereas older models use over 2 gallons. Tip: Turn the faucet off when brushing teeth. Hands/face washing 1 gallon Tip: Turn the faucet off before drying your hands and face. If you don't mind a brisk wash, don't run the faucet until it gets hot before using it. Installing a faucet-head aerator will also reduce the water flow rate. Face/leg shaving 1 gallon Tip: Turn the faucet off when shaving. Dishwasher 6-16 gallons. Newer, EnergyStar models use 6 gallons or less per wash cycle, whereas older diswashers might use up to 16 gallons per cycle. Tip: EnergyStar dishwashers not only save a lot of water but also save electricity. Dishwashing by hand: About 8-27 gallons. This all depends on how efficent you are at hand-washing dishes. Newer kitchen faucets use about 1.5-2 gallons per minutes, whereas older faucets use more. Tip:Efficient hand-washing techniques include installing an aerator in your faucet head and scraping food off, soaking dishes in a basin of soapy water before getting started, and not letting the water run while you wash every dish. It's best to have two basins to work in--one filled with hot, soapy water, the other with warm water for a rinse. Clothes washer 25 gallons/load for newer washers. Older models might use about

4

0

gallons per load.
Tip: EnergyStar clothes washers not only save a lot of water but also save electricity.

Toilet flush

3 gallons. Most new toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush, but many older toilets used about 4 gallons.
Tip: Check for toilet leaks. It is best to install a new low-flow toilet.

Glasses of water you drank

8 oz. per glass (not counting water for Fido or your cats)

Part 2: Understanding the water problem

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/29/drinking.water/

Water Project: Ethiopia on YouTube

Part 3: Applying the information to math by answering the questions below.

   

For a printable version click here.

   

Our facts:

We have relationships between many different pieces of information.  Use the following variables and function names.

n = number of walks to the river
g = number of gallons you get from the river
m = number of miles you walk
t = hours spent walking
d = number of days
h = number of gallons you have at home

 

1. Fill in the blanks in the box below with the correct variables from above.

· In ____ walks to the river, you get _____ gallons of water

· When you walk _____ miles, you get ______ gallons of water

· ____ walks to the river takes _______ hours

· After _______ days, you have _______ gallons of water at home                  

2.  Based on the articles, you know that in ____ walk(s) to the river, a woman may be able to collect ____ gallons of water.

3.  Think about this in terms of a function. Let f(x) represent the amount of gallons a woman can get from the river after waking a certain amount of miles.

· What is the input? Describe which variable it is and what it represents.

· What is the output? Describe which variable it is and what it represents

4. Use the information from the article to fill in the chart below:

n	f(n)
0
1
2
3
4
5

5.  Graph your data from the right using Desmos.com. 
Save your graph as an image file to include in your Discussion Board post.

· What are the units of the values on the x-axis? What scale are you using (1 tick mark is how many

· What are the units of the values on the y-axis? What scale are you using (1 tick mark is how many

· What window would show a complete graph of your data?

· What values should you NOT use in your window?

6. What is the slope of the line? What does the slope represent? Is it positive or negative and why?

7. What is the y-intercept? Why do you think it is the value that it is? What does it represent?

8. Write the equation of the line above in slope intercept form.

9. How many gallons of water would you have after 15 walks to the river?

10. How many gallons of water would you have after 38 walks to the river?

11. Find and interpret 
f(9)
.

12. Find and interpret 
f(52)
.

13. The CNN Article states that the recommended minimum daily water requirement for refugee camps is ________ liters or __________ gallons per person. Is that value of gallons per person an input or an output? Why?

14. How many walks to the river would you have to do if you wanted to get that amount of water for one day?

15. How many gallons of water your family uses on average each day (from the survey linked on Part 1): 

16. How many walks to the river would you have to do if you wanted to get water for your family for one day?

Below is a more in-depth description of the two discussion board assignment parts. Part 1 1. Your Part 1 post requirements for a specific discussion board will be outlined in the instructions for the Discussion Board Forum. Do not always expect a short one part “problem.” Activities might include watching videos or using animations or simulations via websites. Others might be a sequence of questions requiring internet research of terms or ideas, discussions or calculations.

2. Your Part 1 post will be graded based on three core objectives:

a. Problem Solving i. The student will apply mathematics to solve problems arising in everyday life, society and the workplace. ii. The student will identify important quantities in a practical situation and map their relationships using such tools as diagrams, two-way tables, graphs, flowcharts, and formulas and then analyze those relationships mathematically to draw conclusions.

b. Technology i. The student will use available tools appropriately when solving a mathematical problem. These could include pencil and paper, concrete models, a ruler, a protractor, a calculator, or a spreadsheet.

c. Communication i. The student will communicate precisely to others. This includes using clear definitions in discussion with others and in reasoning and stating the meaning of any symbols chosen. ii. The student will carefully use specified units of measure and label axes to clarify the correspondence with quantities in a problem. iii. The student will calculate accurately and efficiently, expressing numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for the problem context

3. Just as in other courses, I expect your writing to meet all grammatical and spelling standards. Do not use run on sentences or partial sentences. Be sure to spell check and review all your posts before you submit them. Poor grammar or spelling reduces the clarity of your post and will reduce the level of communication skills exhibited. 5. Your posts should show a good effort to discuss the prompts in the discussion board and to build communication within the course. Short, ineffectual submissions such as only showing an answer or statements of “just did it in my head” will earn little or no credit. Even if you do something “in your head,” that means that you had a thought process and you need to communicate that thought process to the class. The point of these discussion boards is to get you communicating! Think about how you would explain the concepts to a co-worker or supervisor at work! 6. You must show your calculations in your post. There are two primary ways you can show your calculations. a. MS Word has a built in Equation Editor. You can type of your response in Word (or similar program). However, do not save and upload this document to the Discussion Board. If you type your solution up in Word, you MUST save your document as a PDF file, and then upload that to the Discussion Board. This is because not everyone will have Word, and the typed equations might not be viewable.

Part 2

1. Your part 2 post will be graded on the same Core Mathematics Objectives as the Part 1 post.

2. Your part 2 post will be graded on the same EMRN scale as the Part 1 post.

3. Grammar, spelling and other writing mechanics will be considered on Part 2 post as well.

4. Also, the same as the Part 1 post, your Part 2 post should show a good effort to build communication within the course. To do this your post should discuss the other student’s Part 1 post, compare, and contrast it to your solution, and to offer suggestions on how to improve. Posts such as “me too” to do not build on the course communication.

5. Your Part 2 post could include a discussion of any of the following prompts (but is not limited to): a. My solution to the problem is the same but I used this method instead …. b. I used the same method but have a different solution. I think the error in (my/your) solutions is… c. We used the same