What is the maths like being an electrician?

[Lee Gold]

Hello I am not very good at maths and was wondering what kind of maths do electricians use everyday?

 

[ferg]

Knowing your limitations is half the battle.

If you know maths isn't your strong point spend more time on it and be careful.

With most calculations it's fairly easy to put the answer back into the equation and work back to a known quantity.

If you get the known quantity you win, if not try again.

 

[Darkwood]

One of my ex's was numerically challanged and couldn't tell you what 3 x 8 was ...I explained that she was not thick but poorly taught or got left behind too far to catch up with everyone and told her within a week I would have her been able to calculate any set of 2 digit numbers togethers in her head pretty quickly....

Well within a week I like to think I met my challange as her 'lovely' supporting mother said she was bad at maths because like her she wasn't brainy that way... well I challanged her to pick a double digit number and a single one as she was against the clock and with a calculator work it out before her daughter did it in her head- I think she chose 38 and 7 and before she could even hit '=' her daughter said 266 :beatnik2: -- Im no maths teacher but know there's no such thing as stupid but proud I was and to this day her mum thinks she cheated to which I said to her 'Its that kind of attitude and support you give your daughter that made her believe she was thick, all because you yourself strruggle with maths and didn't want the embarassment of finding your offspring better educated than you' -- she declined my help with her maths and as usual turned to her favourite companion 'Al C Hol' ... now I have to admit not everyone can be helped because the first rule is they want to be helped + canabis reverses the intelligence effect as it attacks your memory and destroys neural links in the brain which she was also partial to!

 

[Dcf]

Great thread!
electricians maths has descended into tales of ----ing races and classroom anarchy.good stuff!
electricians maths isn't hard really ,most of it you will never use tbh( power factor correction sums anyone?)
the best electrician I worked with didnt have a o grade to his name, fell out with his boss and never completed his apprenticeship properly
but could do any type of electrical work to a high standard ,at a furious pace that defied the laws of physics.
he could run projects ,handle main contractors and difficult customers without breaking sweat.
taught me well that man and I have a lot to thank him for tbh
point is there is an emphasis on bits of paper these days in life in general, instead of practical ability and common sense.

 

[Lee Gold]

​Thanks everyone has helped with their comments and another question is why do electricians actually use math? I know you do the voltage x current but why? Can someone explain in a simple way why it is used thanks

 

[trev]

There's any amount of reasons mate, cable selection, metal munching, diversity etc etc. The list goes on and on.

 

[Tiny Spark]

You use maths on a regular basis.

When quoting for a job and making a parts list for said job you need to know how much cable you will need being a important part, To do that you need to calculate distances etc.
Sometimes you will have to do it from a floor plan so you may have to calculate areas etc etc

Then you have the actual electrical stuff itself, You need to be able to calculate the cable size for the stuff you are installing.
You may need to calculate the current that it will draw in order to do this.
If you get the cable size to small it may melt and cause a fire, To big and you are wasteing money.

Being a tradesman of any type involves lots of maths, But being an electrician involves more than most.

 

[ipf]

It helps for putting a bill together and sorting a bank statement out, too.

 

[Lee Gold]

Thanks trev and tiny so a lot of maths but I'm still going to do it if a 15 year old can learn that kind of maths then I certainly can

 

[trev]

You may not realise it but you're doing maths every day anyway. It's not difficult if you put your mind to it mate. Go for it

 

[Lee Gold]

Thanks trev I'm motivated for it

 

[Tiny Spark]

I agree with Trev and DW.

If you really want it, Put your head down and study it and it will not be a problem.
I used to really struggle with maths until one Teacher basicly said the same as DW, I was not stupid or incapable i just had not been shown properly.
I now look back in hindsight and wonder why the hell I couldnt do it before but that does not really matter, I studied and tried hard combined with encouragement and help from those more wise than I and here I am.

So there is no reason why you could not do it either, We all have to learn somewhere and sometime!

 

[BES]

Lots of equations & formulas and the transposing of. Start learning ohms law V=IR and how to transpose it.

 

[telectrix]

hardest bit of maths i ever done was .... marriage +10 years + divorce = £125,000

 

[VoltzElectrical]

I agree with Trev and DW.

If you really want it, Put your head down and study it and it will not be a problem.
I used to really struggle with maths until one Teacher basicly said the same as DW, I was not stupid or incapable i just had not been shown properly.
I now look back in hindsight and wonder why the hell I couldnt do it before but that does not really matter, I studied and tried hard combined with encouragement and help from those more wise than I and here I am.

So there is no reason why you could not do it either, We all have to learn somewhere and sometime!

That's it. In education there is something called 'meta learning'. This basically means being aware of 'how' you learn.

Some people prefer to learn by seeing, some by hearing, some by doing. Most people are a combination.

We were told, in teacher training, to put lesson plans together that included tasks that catered for all three types.

Then comes the matter of the principle of diversification.

In the politically correct left leaning educational establishment, it has become fashionable to mix up abilities in the classroom.

So now, the modern teacher must not only cater for all learning styles, but all abilities, all in one, and each and every one, lesson. And they are assessed on this. Sometimes at very short notice.

It is a very hard wishlist to fulfil. One that ultimately leads to failure to deliver satisfactory education to all.

Anyway, I digress.

@Lee. Work out how best you take in information, then try to elicit that information from known sources in a way that you can understand. I get a feeling from you that you work best in 'scenario' situations where you are given a problem that requires you to use several different mathematical principles, where you can see the results from the techniques used.

I think for you, it would be good to get involved with an actual project, then research the maths needed to get the answers required.

Have you joined the apprentice/ mentors section of the forum yet (sorry I'm not sure exactly what it's called, I'm not yet involved). It may offer you some encouragement.

Good Luck and keep in touch.

And I still can't transpose equations, but the triangle ones are ok!

 

[Simonslimline]

That's it. In education there is something called 'meta learning'. This basically means being aware of 'how' you learn.

Some people prefer to learn by seeing, some by hearing, some by doing. Most people are a combination.

We were told, in teacher training, to put lesson plans together that included tasks that catered for all three types.

Then comes the matter of the principle of diversification.

In the politically correct left leaning educational establishment, it has become fashionable to mix up abilities in the classroom.

So now, the modern teacher must not only cater for all learning styles, but all abilities, all in one, and each and every one, lesson. And they are assessed on this. Sometimes at very short notice.

It is a very hard wishlist to fulfil. One that ultimately leads to failure to deliver satisfactory education to all.

Anyway, I digress.

@Lee. Work out how best you take in information, then try to elicit that information from known sources in a way that you can understand. I get a feeling from you that you work best in 'scenario' situations where you are given a problem that requires you to use several different mathematical principles, where you can see the results from the techniques used.

I think for you, it would be good to get involved with an actual project, then research the maths needed to get the answers required.

Have you joined the apprentice/ mentors section of the forum yet (sorry I'm not sure exactly what it's called, I'm not yet involved). It may offer you some encouragement.

Good Luck and keep in touch.

And I still can't transpose equations, but the triangle ones are ok!

The Trainee forum is definitely worth gaining access to. You need to be in training first though before access will be given.