While studying mathematics topics like algebra, calculus, geometry, and statistics, we have all had this thought, “Why am I studying this?”, “Will I ever be using this at any point in my life?”. Trust me, we have all been there, but as you go through life you will see instances where you are given the opportunity to apply what you have studied. The rest is solely dependent on you, on how well you know to apply what you’ve studied. Let us look at a few simple real-life applications of topics of maths we are using in real life.
- Banking & Finance: Studying topics like algebra, calculus, geometry, and statistics. Financial analysts have many different mathematical tools to help them make better decisions, for example, probability and stochastic calculus to predict the behaviour of financial markets, or statistical models to analyse historic economic data.
- Cosmology: Cosmology is an application of mathematics wherein mathematical equations can model the evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang until today, and can even predict what will happen to the universe in the future. Our universe is expanding at a rapid speed, and the rate of expansion follows the Friedmann Equations which can be deduced from Einstein’s field equations of gravitation. The fate of the universe depends on the amount of matter (= energy) in the universe, and astronomical observations suggest the existence of dark matter and dark energy. Mathematicians also use supercomputers to model the universe for a time very shortly after the Big Bang.
- Weather Prediction: The weather is a fantastically complex system, with billions of molecules interacting. This makes predicting the weather an incredibly difficult task, even using the extensive network of weather stations, satellites, and the world’s largest supercomputers. Fluids like the atmosphere follow a set of rules called the Navier Stokes equations. Supercomputers divide the entire atmosphere into millions of blocks, each around one cubic kilometer in size, and use numeric simulations to create a high-resolution forecast. It is still impossible to accurately predict the weather more than a few weeks in advance – but the accuracy of mathematical models and speed of computers will only improve in the future.
- Defence and Military: In addition to providing the framework for designing new technologies and weapons, or solutions to logistical problems like the transportation of soldiers, weapons, and food, mathematical models can be used to develop and simulate complex military strategies. These simulations might involve game theory, statistics or probability.
Thus, we have talked about just a small portion of many real-life applications where the maths we have studied can be applied to. Consequently, I hope your outlook on the maths has changed. If you need help with understanding topics of mathematics like vectors and more, check out this YouTube channel offering a new outlook and approach to solving math problems-
