Links between Geography and Mathematics

This resource looks at three detailed case studies in the form of student projects which clearly illustrate how mathematics and geography can be effectively linked. This booklet serves as good preparation material for CPD work between departments.

Food and settlement  This case study looks at Nomads and talks about the areas of land they cover. The study then moves on to consider subsistence farmers, looking at the shapes, sizes and areas of fields. A graph of work done against travelling time is considered which leads on to finding the area of a circle and the problems produced by having circular fields when you consider tessellation.

Transport – centrality This case study considers a network to represent the distances between towns. A route matrix is used to investigate where the government should set up their base such that the distances they travel to visit each town is minimised. The task of deciding where new roads should be built is then considered. This is a good example of how geography can be linked with decision mathematics.

Hydrology This case study considers rainfall and the formation of lakes. Students have to calculate volumes of water, evaporation rates and use simple formulae. The case study moves on to consider the rate of flow of a stream using cross-sectional area and the volume of water. The booklet concludes by highlighting how the geography curriculum links with the mathematics curriculum. This resource is from the Co-operation between Science Teachers and Mathematics Teachers series produced by the ISCU Committee on the Teaching of Science.