Patrick Brown

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Prof. Tony Smith

Math 1001
27 Oct. 2016
The Benefits of Estimation (1.3)
The use of estimations is a very beneficial tactic that many people use on the regular
basis. The use of estimations is a fundamental part of many sciences and expands outward into
routines of our daily lives. Whether it be shopping at the local grocery store, designing a set of
blueprints, or just planning ahead while at work: The use of estimations has personally made my
life much easier.
As stated above, estimations are a very handy tool and can be applied outside the realms
of science. A personally example Im sure many can relate to is while at the supermarket. While
strolling through the countless aisles, Ive been plagued with the task of crunching numbers in
my mind so as to not over-spend. In regards to estimation a tactic I like to do is round everything
up to the nearest dollar. So that can of aerosol that costs $1.89 now costs $2.00 in my mind and
that big bag of Cheetos that costs $3.49 not costs $4.00. As you can see, the addition of these
numbers is a lot more simplistic than the addition of decimals and allows for me to tally up a
shopping cart full of items with little to no effort. This also allows me to avoid the very
embarrassing event of reach the check-out line and not having enough cash to purchase my
items.
On a similar note, the use of estimations can also play a very important part in the area of
construction. Designing blueprints is a hobby of mine and the sometimes I have to base the
functionality of my creations off of similar inventions. Take for example my idea for a car that
runs strictly on Hydrogen gas. A normal 4- cylinder combustion engine at 1000rpm requires

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1000L of air in addition to fuel for combustion. If I were to crunch the numbers taking in account
that I would require twice as much H2 as O2, I would need to factor in the chemical formula of
air seeing as it is composed partly of H2. Air is 8 parts N2, 2 parts O2, and 4 parts H2. This
works out to H2 being 4/14 of the equation which estimates to approximately 30%. We could
then multiply this times my required air as to see how much fuel I would need to generate per
minute. The equation would end up being 2000*0.30 which would leave me needing to generate
600 liters of H2 production per minute. My standard HHO generator can only produce roughly 5
liters per minute with the support of two car batteries. The answer to my problem would be to
design a more efficient engine capable of using this fuel.
Lastly, the use of estimation has personally aided me in the workplace. As an overnight
associate at Wal-Mart, I do a lot of work with pallets. Due to our strict policies concerning the
time a pallet can sit on the floor. A truck delivers roughly 12 pallets to our department, each one
estimating to 1 hour a piece. With a team-mate, we can mentally project our tactics and consider
the best approach to making sure that freight ends up on the shelf in a reasonable time. Usually
we stock an aisle alone which can at times leave someone with more freight than the other. If I
receive 5 pallets and my fellow associate receives 7, I can estimate myself getting done in
roughly 5 hours and them 7 hours. We must incorporate our1 hour lunch and both of our 15
minute breaks into our equation or we may not finish in a timely manner. A practice we try to
incorporate is working one section together for 30 minutes then pushing the pallet back in the
freezer to work another for 30 minutes. This works kind of like a piston as one of us leaves to
push the pallet as the other stays behind to continue working and vis-versa every 30 minutes.
Using this method, we can cut our stocking times in half and make sure that the freight always
maintains a safe temperature.

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From the examples above, we can see just how helpful using estimations can truly be.
Whether it be maintaining a budget whilst out shopping, designing blueprints for some future
project, or just making the work-night a little more enjoyable. Estimation is definitely a universal
tool.