Tune Up Your Lawn Mower &
Pass Your Certification Exam
Marty Wilson, NCRWA Circuit Rider
H
ow can tuning up your lawn mower help you pass your certification
exam? Many operators struggle with passing a certification exam
but can perform complicated repairs on mechanical equipment
with ease. One reason that operators fail their exam is because
they do not do well on the math. Although most of these operators
could tell you the multiple steps required to fix various types of
operational or mechanical problems, they freeze up on the math
portion of the exam because they do not know the steps to solve
a math problem. If an operator can remember or figure out the
steps involved to solve complicated operational problems they
should also be able to remember or figure out the steps to solve a
certification math problem.
The first obstacle to overcome is the overwhelming and world-
wide fear of “Math”. Just the mere mention of the word can cause
the biggest, meanest, best operations technician, to quake in their
waterproof boots. To help overcome this fear let’s compare doing
a math problem with something more familiar – like tuning up a
lawn mower.
Before you start tuning up your lawn mower you need to have
the correct tools and parts for your particular model. Once you
have assembled your tools and parts then you begin a step by
step process to complete the tune up. There are multiple steps
involved; sometimes it is important to do one step prior to doing
another step. For example, you would not begin adding engine oil
before you drained the old oil out; however, it doesn’t matter if
you change the spark plug first or change the oil first. Once you
know the order of the steps, and if you have the right tools and
parts, it is easy to complete the tune up. If you have the wrong
part you must go back to the store and change it for the right
part. The more often you perform this job the easier it becomes
because you know the order of the steps better and you know what
parts to buy.
Now let’s compare this to a certification math problem. For
a math problem the tools and parts you need are the formulas
and units of measurement that are needed for a particular type
of problem. Once you have assembled your formulas and units
then you begin a step by step process to complete the problem.
There are multiple steps involved; sometimes it is important to do
one step prior to doing another step. For example, you would not
multiply the diameter of the pipe in inches before you changed
the inches to feet and converted it to radius (when using the 3.14
times Radius squared formula) to find the area in square feet.
However, it doesn’t matter if you change the diameter to radius
first or change inches to feet first. Once you know the order of
the steps, and if you have the right formula and units, it is easy to
complete the problem. If you have the wrong units you must go
back and change the units to the right unit of measurement. The
more often you work this type of problem the easier it becomes
because you know the order of the steps better and you know what
formulas and units to use.
Here is an example problem that compares finding the water
velocity in a water line with tuning up a lawn mower engine:
20
NCRWA.COM |
Winter 2014
math with marty
