Re: [Phys-l] innumeracy

[Bernard Cleyet <bernardcleyet@redshift.com>]

Let's not be scholastic -  instead ask a physics question, such as,    
Which weighs more  (in this classroom) a ten pound red brick or ten  
pounds of feathers?

bc has a jeweler friend who uses a penny weight balance.

p.s.  my point above suggests the 0.823 is not accurate (correct).


On 2008, Mar 06, , at 09:48, Quist, Oren wrote:

> I am getting a little tired of these innumeracy values, but I will  
> throw
> in one more.
>
> I ask my students, "which weighs more, a pound of gold or a pound of
> feathers?"
>
> They laugh and tell me that it is a trick question, and that they  
> weigh
> the same.
>
> And, I explain that yes indeed it is a trick question, and a pound of
> feathers weighs more than a pound of gold.  (one pound of gold weighs
> equal to 0.823 pounds of feathers).
>
> > From here, we go into the importance of understanding units.
>
> Oren Quist, Ph.D., P.E.
> Professor and Head
> Department of Physics
> South Dakota State University
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