- i really, really hate British units of measure. units of mass aren't so common, and instead pounds refer to a unit of gravitational force. fine: if that's the physics definition, then i can't and shouldn't argue it.
but it doesn't make any sense. how do you discuss density of solids, then?
you'd figure that the Brits wouldn't mind Newtons (N) as a unit of force. it's named after one of them, after all. everyone remembers what Newton did, but nobody recalls the deeds of, say, Alfred the Great .. who, oddly enough, is the only English king to be named 'Great.'
frustrating. - basic mechanics isn't as simple-minded as i thought. moreover, my students seem much more inclined to physics than, say, volumes of revolution or polar coordinates. they actually seemed lively .. though that could be more my volley of errors that people kept noticing.
as i was fumbling with certain concepts, such as force induced by pressure in a fluid and gravitational force, a few of my more vocal students jumped in with plenty of good pointers. admittedly, i didn't know they had it in them.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
teaching and science and other thoughts.
i learned several things after teaching today.
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2 comments:
I like the problems about work or hydrostatic force so much, I don't even mind British units. :-) At the very least, they teach how to choose (and use) an appropriate reference frame, which may be more important that the ability to integrate \tan^2x\sec^5x.
they teach how to choose (and use) an appropriate reference frame, which may be more important that the ability to integrate \tan^2x\sec^5x.
that may be true in an absolute sense, and you're probably right.
but are mechanics and reference frames topics a mathematics instructor should teach, or should these be left to physics instructors? would you really get the good nuances of these topics in a mathematics class?
i agree with convention: it is useful to see how mathematics is used in applications, and everyone should know a little physics (i'll admit that). but in the context of a mathematics class, it seems appropriate to measure importance within mathematics.
you do have a point, though: i don't think it's important to be able to integrate (tan^2)x (sec^5)x, but i do think it's important to be able to visualise volumes of revolution and reckon old formulas we learned for volumes of solids.
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