What do Fire Codes and Wind Chills have in common? INTEGERS of course! In math class on Thursday Mrs. Mize’s students learned two real life applications for positive and negative numbers. After completing the unit on Integer operations, each class went over examples of integers in real life.

First, the class discussed fire code and how important it is for the manager or owner of a public building to know the capacity of the building in order to be in compliance with fire code. The students learned different counting methods to determine how many people are in a building at any given time. They also learned the potential negative consequences (no pun intended) of not following fire code.

Last, the students learned about wind chill. Students used a chart provided by the National Weather Service to investigate the effect wind has on temperature. Students were able to see that depending on how hard the wind is blowing their skin will believe the temperature is lower than the actual temperature. The class took it a step further and discussed heat index as well.

At the conclusion of the lessons, the class was asked by Mrs. Mize what they learned. One student responded, “I learned that math has to do with everything!” Mrs. Mize noted that it is extremely rewarding to watch the students experience light bulb moments when they see the connection between the skills taught in class and real life applications.