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Exercise 1:
Back in the days before the hand-held
calculator... Hey, it wasn't so long ago! Just watch some old episodes of I Dream of
Jeannie. Major Nelson was using a slide rule to make his calculations! Visit JavaSlide - the WWW's
very first Java Slide Rule to find out what we're talking about. To learn how it work
(yes, it uses logarithms), go to How a Slide Rule Works.
(The logarithm property that is used at this site is Log (to the base b) MN = Log (to the
base b) M + Log (to the base b) N.) After seeing these sites, you just may appreciate your
calculator (and logarithms) a bit more! |
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Exercise 2:
In this chapter, you learned about something
we're certain that you became interested in: compound interest. Deciding how to invest
your money will be one of the most important decisions you will make for your future.
There are lots of options out there. For this exercise, we'll be using one of Kiplinger's online
calculators to get some quick results, however, you can use your interest formulas to
get similar results. Let's
assume that you have $10,000 to invest. (The calculator will be compounding annually.)
Here are some choices:
| 1) |
A standard credit union savings
accounts earning 3% interest a year |
| 2) |
A 1 year certificate of deposit
(CD) earning 5.02% interest (For this type of account, you cannot withdraw any funds
during the year without paying a penalty -- It's like loaning the bank money for a year.) |
| 3) |
Investing in Microsoft which
earned 30.28% in 1997 and 30.81% in 1998... so assume an yearly earning of 30.5%. |
| 4) |
Investing in Coca-cola which
earned 21.88% in 1997 and 19.69% in 1998... so assume an yearly earning of 21%. |
(The savings and CD
rates were official as of 12/28/98 and the stock information was found at Morningstar.)
Go to the calculator and enter
these interest rate options and print your results. How much can you make with each
investment? You may notice that the first two investments don't even show up on your
graph. Do you see why? To see the comparison of your first two investment options, repeat
the exercise for only these choices.
One important thing to note before
you all go running out to buy stocks: The first two investments are 100% safe -- You
cannot lose your money. As for Microsoft and Coca-cola, anything can happen in the
business world and you can lose everything! |
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Exercise 3:
If you thought the online calculator in
exercise 2 was great, wait until you see what else is available! Would you like to be a
millionaire someday? To find out how much you need to save each month to become a
millionaire by a certain age (perhaps when you retire at 65), go to this online calculator at
SmartCalc. Leave the amount you can save each month blank and the calculator will tell you
what is required to reach your goal. Print your results. You may have noticed that the site tells you
that $1,000,000 will not really be much money in, say, 30 years. Here's a problem for you
to figure out using your formulas:
Assuming a yearly inflation rate of
3%, what will $1,000,000 be worth in 30 years? This figure should then be your savings
goal.
(answer) |
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Exercise 4:
It would be great to be the equivalent of
today's millionaires when we retire, but let's be a bit more realistic. This retirement calculator will let you figure out how
much savings you'll need to provide a certain level of yearly income for yourself during
retirement. The nice thing about this calculator is that it figures in inflation to take
care of the problem we ran into in exercise 3. Let's assume you can live comfortably on
$36,000 a year (remember, you probably won't have a house payment by this time)... Enter
the requested information, an annual inflation rate of 3% and assume that you can average
8% yield on your investments. Print out your results. How much do you need to save each
year to reach your goal? Print your results and start saving! |
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Exercise 5:
For a brief history and more information about
carbon dating, go to The Mining Company's Archaeology site and read Timing is Everything Part
III: The Radiocarbon Revolution. Be sure to follow the Radiocarbon Accelerator
Unit link. |
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Exercise 6:
Go to Negative Population Growth's Facts and Figures site and follow the World Population Growth, 1950-2050
link. Use the population figures from 1950 and 1997 to project the world's population in
the year 2050. (Note: You may need to use scientific notation to enter these figures into
your calculator.) Does your figure match what is on NPG's site? Why do you think this is
so? (answer) Now go to their World Population Clock. Use the
first population entry and the last to project the world's population in 2050. Is this
figure different than the one your previous answer? Why do you think this is so?Now, check out this graph
of the growth of the world's population. It is in German, but youll still be able to
understand what's going on. Recognize the shape? What is it? |
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Exercise 7:
Do you love the sound of the rain? Do you love
music? Then you love decibels. Decibels follow a logarithmic scale, so you must,
therefore, love logarithms! (Shocking, isn't it?) Go to Measuring Sound Levels
to learn more about decibel levels and run their simulation. Now that you have a greater
understanding for decibel levels, visit the Decibel Levels page at Coolmath.com and
find the dB level that causes pain. All tastes aside, if Steven Perry of Aerosmith
screamed into his microphone, would it hurt your ears? |
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