"People don’t realise it but there is loads of maths in action when you are at the supermarket. First of all there is lots of mathematics behind the automatic doors that open every time someone comes near and the security which detects magnets attached to certain products and sets off an alarm to prevent theft. Then inside the shop there are many discounts on products that use percentages; barcodes which are on products that use unique number patterns (that add up to a multiple of ten once the very last number is added on) so that the products can be bought quickly and can be tracked easily; and at the checkout maths is used to calculate the total cost of the products and how much change should be given back to the customer."
