Geometry - Why Do I Need This Stuff?

            Geometry, for us, means the informal study of shapes. Everyone needs or uses geometry in their everyday lives. If you really think about it everything that we do or use everyday is somehow related to geometry. The houses or buildings that we live in are constructed using geometry. The architects that designed these houses and building had to use the measurements of angles and the shapes themselves to figure out what they wanted the structures to look like. Then when the contractors and construction workers did the actual building of the structure they again used the measurements of the angles and the shapes to put the structures together so that they would be sturdy and stay in place. The same would go when architects design the plans to build a bridge. They must use geometry and the measures of angles to figure out exactly where to place the trusses, which will hold the bridge up when constructed and when cars are traveling across it.
             Another thing that we use geometry for is when we are constructing our interstates. Our interstates twist and turn and make all sorts of angles and they must be exactly right so that the direction of them do not get messed up. Architects must determine the angles of interstates and determine the exact degrees of the angles so that the direction of the highways and interstates are correct and everyone can use them to get to where they are going. They also have to determine the most effective way to place the interstates. Then when the contractors and construction workers start to build the roads and highways they use geometry to again measure the angles so that they lay the asphalt correctly.
             I am a huge fan of NASCAR and I know that there is all kinds of geometry that is used in building the tracks. The turns on the tracks have a certain degree of banking, which means that they are angled and slanted in a certain way. The designers of these tracks must use geometry to determine how many degrees they can slant the turns to create a certain friction on the track to keep the cars from sliding down the track or turning over completely.