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Re: [Phys-l] innumeracy



This make little sense to me and I would beg how a pound is defined here. For example there
are different interpretations of an 'ounce'. Also what does it mean to say ".823 pounds of feathers".
A better question to provoke thought is the three door problem where the wrong choice gets you
a hideous donkey. Anyway top of the morning to ya...

g.
On Thursday, March 6, 2008, at 10:09 PM, Bernard Cleyet wrote:

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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Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
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_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l