Construction Mathematics

Surinder Virdi, Roy Baker, Narinder Kaur Virdi

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781135055219
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Tecnologia e ingegneria
• Subtopic: Ingegneria edile

Construction Mathematics is an introductory level mathematics text, written specifically for students of construction and related disciplines.

• Learn by tackling exercises based on real-life construction maths. Examples include: costing calculations, labour costs, cost of materials and setting out of building components.
• Suitable for beginners and easy to follow throughout.
• Learn the essential basic theory along with the practical necessities.

The second edition of this popular textbook is fully updated to match new curricula, and expanded to include even more learning exercises. End of chapter exercises cover a range of theoretical as well as practical problems commonly found in construction practice, and three detailed assignments based on practical tasks give students the opportunity to apply all the knowledge they have gained.

Construction Mathematics addresses all the mathematical requirements of Level 2 construction NVQs from City & Guilds/CITB and Edexcel courses, including the BTEC First Diploma in Construction. Additional coverage of the core unit Mathematics in Construction and the Built Environment from BTEC National Construction, Civil Engineering and Building Services courses makes this an essential revision aid for students who do not have Level 2 mathematics experience before commencing their BTEC National studies. This is also the ideal primer for any reader who wishes to refresh their mathematics knowledge before going into a construction HNC or BSc.

CHAPTER 1

Using a scientific calculator

Learning outcomes:

(a) Identify the right keys to perform a calculation

(b) Perform a range of calculations

1.1 Introduction

The use of electronic calculators became popular during the early 1970s. Before the invention of calculators, slide-rules and tables of logarithms and antilogarithms were used to perform simple as well as complex calculations. The exercises and assignments in this book require the use of a scientific calculator; this chapter deals with the familiarisation of some of the main keys of a calculator.

With most calculators the procedure for performing general calculations is similar. However, with complex calculations this may not be the case. In that situation the reader should consult the instructions manual that came with their calculator. The dissimilarity in calculators is not just limited to the procedure for calculations, as the layout of the keys could be different as well.

The sequence in which the keys of a new calculator are pressed is the same as the sequence in which a calculation is written. With the old calculators this might not be the case. All calculations given in this section are based on the new calculators. Scientific calculators have a range of special function keys and it is important to choose one that has all the functions most likely to be needed. Some of the commonly used keys are shown in Section 1.2.

1.2 Keys of a scientific calculator

The keys of a typical scientific calculator are shown in Figure ...