Re: terminology: period vs. wavelength

["RAUBER, JOEL" <JOEL_RAUBER@SDSTATE.EDU>]

And I might add, that part of the purpose of the course is the building of
technical vocabulary apropriate for the contexts (and culture) presented.
As such, I'd react and respond the same way Michael did.

Joel Rauber

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Edmiston [mailto:edmiston@BLUFFTON.EDU]
> Sent: Monday, July 02, 2001 10:27 AM
> To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
> Subject: Re: terminology: period vs. wavelength
>
>
> I don't completely disagree with those who are willing to accept
> unconventional answers.  And I agree that "period" can have multiple
> meanings. But I am still more in tune with Tim Folkerts and
> my original
> statement about the situation.  The context of my question
> was not only the
> exam itself, but all of the lectures, problem sets, textbook,
> labs up to
> that point.  None of these ever used period as anything other
> than a time
> period.  The students who answered period when I was
> expecting wavelength
> were not being clever or astute; rather they were being
> careless and/or
> hadn't been paying attention during virtually all aspects of
> the course.
> Frankly, it makes me angry when a student doesn't study or
> otherwise doesn't
> learn the material, screws up on an exam, than suddenly becomes very
> academic about the meaning of words and tries to get credit on a
> technicality.  The time to be academic was before the test,
> not after it.
>
> The point of language is communication.  Part of learning how to use
> language is to learn common meanings.  When we discuss
> harmonic motion I
> would still maintain that the most common definition of
> period is a time
> period.  If that is true, I do not think it is wrong to
> expect students to
> learn it that way.  Indeed, I think it is my job to teach it
> that way.  I am
> willing to take a few minutes to explain that not all people
> use the word
> that way, and since talking to the math profs I actually say
> that period in
> math might mean something different than the way I use it
> when discussing
> harmonic motion.  But having said that, I don't think there
> is anything
> wrong, and I think it is actually proper, for me to tell the
> class that in
> the context of harmonic motion they ought to assume period
> means time period
> unless there is evidence to the contrary.
>
> Isn't this part of our jobs as teachers, that is, to teach common
> understanding and usage?
>
>
> Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.              Phone/voice-mail:
>   419-358-3270
> Professor of Chemistry & Physics        FAX:
>   419-358-3323
> Chairman, Science Department            E-Mail
>   edmiston@bluffton.edu
> Bluffton College
> 280 West College Avenue
> Bluffton, OH 45817