Re: Units and Conversions

[Larry Smith <larry.smith@SNOW.EDU>]

At 9:00 AM -0600 7/2/02, Daniel Price wrote:
> > In my applied math class we are working on different units and unit c=
> > onversions.  I will start the metric system in a couple days.  Would =
> > it be worth it to the students to bring in a meter, a kilogram, and a=
> >  liter?
>
> I would think that such an approach could only help.  Most of us in the
> United States have strong concepts of "standard" quantities (miles, feet,
> pounds, gallons) and can thus estimate or at least comprehend the magnitude
> of measurements in the English system.  Calculating in meters, kilograms,
> and other SI units is not the same as understanding their scale, however;
> examples and activities which "emphasize the size" of SI units should go a
> long way toward instilling a necessary sense of proportion.

Not only do I bring them in to class, I pass them around, and then make the
students hold up their hands a meter apart.  I even joke that if I meet
them some day in a dark alley and say "show me your meter!" their hands
better instinctively swing into position one meter apart.

Larry