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[Phys-L] Re: student mathematical capabilities



At 13:54 -0500 9/19/05, Jack Uretsky wrote:

I suggest the latter, the first immediate goal being a statement
from the AAPT on the teaching of math.
Our clout (a local Chicago word) out to be great. The ultimate
sanction being the takeover of math preparation of students who are
interested in careers in the Physical and Biological sciences.
My suggestion for a starting point is a statement of proposed
outcomes, at the end of grade 12, in the subjects of algebra, geometry and
pre-calculus - without limiting ourselves to bureaucratic definitions of
those topics.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I would suggest that any such
statement include the need for students coming out of high school
math (which should just be reinforcement of the same goals set for
elementary and middle school) to have an understanding of the role of
units with numbers, thought (or more commonly, "story") problems--how
to take a verbal description of a situation and translate it into the
necessary equations--, graphing real data (including the idea that in
real data, "outliers" are not necessarily errors, but may indicate
something new) and interpreting the graphs in physical terms
including the understanding of the physical significance of some
common mathematical functions (trig, inverse and direct square,
exponential, etc.), scaling laws, and finally approximate
arithmetic--estimating answers to about an order of magnitude.

They don't have to be expert at these things, but they need to
appreciate their value and not be surprised when they see their
professors in college apply these ideas routinely in class.

Hugh
--

Hugh Haskell
<mailto:haskell@ncssm.edu>
<mailto:hhaskell@mindspring.com>

(919) 467-7610

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