For one learning project students calculate whether the available land area in Tennessee can produce enough corn grain to satisfy food and fuel needs for the state population. Variables include the amount of food consumed per day, and fuel requirements of an average automobile, using miles per gallon and miles driven per year. Students compare corn yields with and without fertilizers and with the following fertilizer options: manure, commerical fertilizer or a combination of commerical fertilizer plus manure. Students make decisions about land use, food consumption and use of fertilizers.

Students have a fear of numbers and mathematics, even though the computations are done by spreadsheet provided by the professor. Students have diffculty rounding large values to whole numbers, and also seem to lack the ability to understand whether their answers are reasonable or not.