Look again at example 1.
As you read through Example 1 again, take your time and read very carefully, bearing in mind the points made above. Work through the mathematics, thinking about each line of the argument.
Keep asking yourself these questions:
Do I agree with that?
Would I have expressed that differently?
Could I explain that to someone else in my own words?
Example 1 was a piece of so-called pure mathematics. Recall the definitions of pure mathematics given at the beginning of this unit.
Pure mathematics: abstract science of space, number, and quantity.
Pure mathematics studies the propositions that can be deduced in this language by applying definite rules of reasoning to sets of axioms.
In Example 1, there was no link to the real world. However, Example 2 is a very different type of mathematical writing. It is taken from a newspaper and uses mathematics to convey information to a general readership. It is therefore an example of mathematics being applied to handling data that arise in the real world. This particular branch of mathematics is known as statistics.
Original Copyright © 1996 The Open University. Now made available within the Creative Commons framework under the CC Attribution – Non-commercial licence (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/).
