Re: Marilyn and units!

[Herschel Neumann <hneumann@DU.EDU>]

"In an average healthy adult, the volume of blood is about one-eleventh of
the body weight. Most sources state the volume of blood in an average human
adult, who is between 150 to 160 pounds, as between 4.7 and 5 liters,
although the more recent sources state the volume of blood in an average
adult as 4.7 liters. Sources state that an 80-pound child had about half
that amount, and an 8-pound infant has about 8.5 ounces. People who live at
high altitudes, where the air contains less oxygen, may have up to 1.9
liters more blood than people who live in low altitude regions. The extra
blood delivers additional oxygen to body cells. The heart pumps all the
blood in the body each minute when the body is at rest."

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/LanNaLee.shtml

----- Original Message -----

From: "Bob Sciamanda" <trebor@VELOCITY.NET>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 4:24 PM
Subject: Marilyn and units!


> Speaking of the confounding of units/dimensions,  the following is a scan
from
> this Sunday's Marilyn Vos Savant column.  Can anyone offer the Rosetta
stone
> which reduces each of her examples to a blood volume equal to one-eleventh
of
> body weight?
>
> "We're taught that adults have a certain amount of blood. How much blood
does a
> child have? Or an Infant at birth?
> -Kathy, Worcester, Mass.
> Actually, the amount of blood depends on your size. In an average adult,
the
> volume of blood is about one-eleventh of the body weight. So a 150-pound
adult
> will have about 5 quarts of blood. A 75-pound child will have about 5
pints. and
> a 7.5-pound baby will have about 8 fluid ounces. But people who live at
high
> altitudes, where the air contains less oxygen, must develop more blood: as
much
> as 4 more pints. This is why runners like to train in the mountains-they
gain a
> physical advantage over their sea-level counterparts."
>
> Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
> Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
> trebor@velocity.net
> http://www.velocity.net/~trebor