Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This course applies math concepts directly to real life problems encountered in the landscape industry. It works for both student's reviewing or updating skills and for students who have to learn skills in preparation for other classes or employment in the landscape industry.

Upon completion of the class students will be able to:

• Recognize, interpret, formulate and apply real-world math situations to the landscape field.

• At least 3 in-class examinations (two using the scientific calculator)
• At least 1 material take-off project (architect's and/or engineer's scale required)
• At least one of the following additional measures:
    - Take-home examination
    - Graded homework
    - Individual project
    - In class activities
    - Attendance
    - Individual student conference

Themes, Concepts and Issues:
1.  Understand irrigation systems by interpreting/interpolating graphs needed for computing pressure losses and working  pressure.
2.  Apply scaling and trigonometry functions to landscape design and site survey situations.
3.  Interpret/calculate pesticide formulations for application  within the state licensing laws and for protection of our environment.
4.  Estimate materials and costs for landscape construction.
5.  Calculate  amounts of fertilizers, pre-emergents, etc used in landscape maintenance of private and public real estate.
6.  Develop proficiency in essential math skills needed for employment in the landscape industry.
Competencies and skills:
The student will be able to:
1.  Locate and use the following functions:  square root, cube root, exponents, fractions, mixed numbers, improper fx, pi, degrees/minutes/
    seconds, signed numbers,  memory in/recall, right triangle trig and inverse functions.
2.  Change from one mode to another using the Fix, Scientific, Degrees, Normal and Computations buttons.
3.  Make rough estimates, round whole and decimal numbers, and check for reasonable answers.
4.  Read a ruler as well as add & subtract feet/inches/fractions of an inch.
5.  Convert feet/inches/fx of an inch to decimal feet and back again on a scientific calculator.
6.  Read and write decimal numbers accurately to the millionth place.
7.  Convert from one metric unit to another by using powers of ten and prefix identification.
8.  Identify/write/substitute/solve using formulas for practical geometric problems. 
9.  Draw perpendicular/parallel lines and  line segments using measurable dimensions.
10. Calculate/measure/draw to scale new bearings/azimuths after taking given degree right/left turns using a protractor & architects scale.
11. Solve/label correctly linear equations for circumference, perimeter, length of an arc and diameter breast height as applied to material
    take-off and fertilization requirements.
12. Identify/solve/label correctly for the area of squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, parallelograms and circles as applied to turf
    grass, fertilization, top soil and water rate applications.
13. Identify/solve/label correctly for the volume of cubes/rectangular solids, triangular solids, trapezoidal solids and cylinders.
14. Convert from inches3 to feet3 to yds3 using applications for sand, gravel, soil, water, cords of wood and barkdust.
15. Calculate % as applied to slope, discounts, increases and decreases, seed count, etc.
16. Understand rates/ratios as applied to NPK fertilizers, tree care, lumber, construction and other numerous applications.
17. Calculate slant height.
18. Use architects and/or engineers scale for material take-off project.   
19. Compute stair calculations for construction.
20. Estimate amounts and costs of materials used to develop/ build/maintain nursery and other landscaped environments.
21. Interpolation using and interpretation of graphs and charts.
22. Conceptualize the differences between 1, 2, and 3 dimensional applications.
23. Be able to utilize proportion as a solution method.
24. Use engineer's and/or architects scale for site grading problems.
25. Use right triangle trigonometry to calculate distance and /or degrees in angles as applied to sun angles and site grading.
26. Understand static pressure and other basic hydraulic concepts.