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[Phys-L] Re: Charts or Graphs, and other Excel stuff



There is one distinction that definitely is worth making, namely the
difference between a graph and a map. All too often students confuse
them. I see that when they make a motion map that they will treat it
as a graph and label the axis as time. There are many other symptoms
that occurr because of this confusion. Whether you call it a chart or
a graph or a plot is really irrelevant. However, there is historical
symantic confusion because chart is also a name for a map. This usage
is probably no longer as prevalent, but it can still cause problems.

This business of being anal retentive about words comes to mind a
training session that I attended where the presenter insisted in using
the word directory despite the fact that the current word promoted by
MS and others is folder. She insisted that this was the "correct"
professional word, when I suggested that folder was a more familiar
reasonable word to use. Why not use a reasonable synonym, especially
when it conveys a good meaning that people already understand. By
introducing an unfamiliar word to people who are not computer pros.
she muddied the presentation.

Arnold Arons suggested that you could let students come up with their
own terminology, and then present the approved synonym. Use both and
with time drop the student terminology. This should result in better
learning and understanding.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


I like this discussion because I think it goes beyond the simple
quibbling about whether a plot is a chart or a graph. There is a
danger with older teachers in the classroom in that they try to
squeeze their entire life experience in a subject area into a
single semester or year of interaction with a group of students.

What ends up happening is that the students can't tell what is
physics and what is merely a set of archaic rules that the
instructor has built up during their career. I would prefer that
a student walk away from a course having some intuitive idea of
what F=ma actually means, than knowing that the word that all of
their friends use for a graph (plot, chart, slide, etc.) is
somehow wrong because their physics teacher didn't like it. We're
fighting a battle against pseudoscience and general ignorance of
how the physical world works. The fewer distractions that we put
in the way the better.

Bob at PC


I also wanted to make sure that if I keep telling students to
call it a
graph rather than a chart, that I wasn't just being old
fashioned.
Sometimes it is best for scientists to adopt to the ways of the
world
rather than expecting the opposite. Said differently, one
ought to
choose his battles carefully because some battles may not be
winnable
or
may not be worth winning. Thus, I was wondering if others on
this list
think it is worth trying to preserve our preferences for the
way
scientists and science students use and discuss spreadsheets,
or if
this
is a battle that isn't worth it, or perhaps not even a winnable
battle.


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu