Math Tools for Journalists: Chapters 9-12

Ashley Fahey

Numerical measurements constantly play a role in a journalist's life, so having a well-bred knowledge of them is crucial for success. Image courtesy of Etsy.

In Math Tools for Journalists, Chapters 9-12 go over more fundamental aspects of math, but about how journalists use these fundamentals: directional measurements, area measurements, volume measurements and the metric system. Students have been using these tools since elementary school, but it might not seem important for journalists to hone these skills and apply them to their work.

Chapter 9 goes over directional measurements, which are simple, but a refresher in the formulas necessary for directional measurements is always good. They help explain news reports, accidents, sports and other related events and put writing into perspective nicely. Wickham not only provided lots of useful formulas for volume, speed and so on, but she also gave several examples of commonly sought-after directional measurements, such as the speed of light, which is useful to know off the top of your head. And for someone who didn’t know what G-force really meant, this chapter was useful in explaining it (it is a measurement of acceleration) and then giving several examples of what uses G-force, and what their measurement would be. Weight, mass and momentum sum up the chapter with a quick refresher on each of the concepts, their formulas and how they might be used by a journalist.

Knowing the formulas for area measurements, such as perimeter, will enhance reporting immensely. Image courtesy of the Office of Real Property Tax Services.

In the chapter about area measurements, the author states there are two ways to explain measurements for journalists: one is through using analogies and the other is through simple, accurate numbers that convey facts easily for the reader. Analogies can be useful when describing relative distance but sometimes, more specificity is required, which is why using numbers can sometimes be the most effective means of conveying measurement. The chapter also goes over formulas for perimeter, area, square feet and yards, radius and circumference which are, again, tools that have been taught for years, but are not necessarily put in perspective for journalists until this book. Measurements are helpful in an article because they convey information. Knowing what measurements mean and being able to calculate different types of measurements will assist any reporter in writing as clearly and accurately as possible what the readers should know.

The next chapter, about volume measurements, goes over why volume is important to know and how journalists can use these numbers in context with their reporting pieces. Like in Chapter 9, the author goes over common volume measurements, ones that people should know or may use more often than other types of measurements. It was also useful in giving a practical approach to volume measurements, and how they would be used in more unexpected ways. For example, the author gives a scenario in which a journalist would have to calculate the electricity bill for an ad campaign. Wickham reveals that, surprisingly, only wattage and time are necessary in order to figure out the amount of energy consumed, in watt-hours, which can then lead to the cost of the bill. The chapter ends with a list of ton conversions, and what a cord is.

The United States is one of the only countries in the world to not use the metric system, making it important to understand the conversations. Image courtesy of Blogspot.

The metric system is the final chapter in Math Tools for Journalists. This chapter is important because, as Americans, we frequently forget that we are one of the only countries in the world who do not use the metric system of measurement. Therefore, having a comprehensive understanding of the metric system is vital in order to translate numbers, measurements and data from other countries so that it is understandable in American terms. Conversely, it is important to be able to translate our measurements into ones that the rest of the world can understand. Wickham starts the chapter with the definition of the metric system and a table of basic metric conversions. Formulas for length, area, mass, volume and temperature follow afterward, which can be plugged in easily into situations when you need to convert measurements. Finally, the chapter (and book) ends with some style rules to remember when using the metric system in reporting.

Practice Problems

1. Sunny Samson is a reporter at the CommStudent Gazette and is doing a story on the local aviation school. She is lucky enough to learn how to fly one of the helicopters. If the helicopter has a mass of 500 kilograms and travels at a rate of 300 kilometers/hour, what is the helicopter’s momentum?
   (Multiply 500, the mass, by 300, the velocity, to get 1,500,000 kilometers per hour.)
2. Zoe Buchanan, the owner of a wildlife preservation park, wants to construct a new fence around the entire perimeter. The park measures 15 miles due west and 32 miles due north. How long will the fence be? (Multiply 15 by 32 to get 480 feet of fence.)
3. Jenna Johnson, a reporter for the local paper, wanted to know the volume of an average cereal box. The dimensions of a box of Cereal Crunches is 40 inches by 30 inches by 5 centimeters. What is the volume of the box? (Multiply 40 by 30 by 0.05 to get 600 cubic inches.)
4. An investigative reporter interviews two sources about the amount of water being consumed by the average household. One source said 300 gallons and another source said 1,050 liters. Which source uses more water? (Convert 1,050 liters to 276.3 gallons, making source one the greater consumer of water.)