Reading:
- NASA’s metric confusion caused Mars orbiter loss
- Visualizing Vastness, by Steven Strogatz (New York Times)
- Powers of Ten
- StartR 3
- Learning Styles
Lessons (Asterisk indicates there is a checkpoint quiz in Moodle):
- Introduction to Units and Dimensions*: Screencast – Slides
- Operating with Dimensions*: Screencast – Slides
- Unit conversion*: Screencast – Slides
- Dimensional Analysis*: Screencast – Slides
- Dimensional Analysis and the Atomic Bomb: Screencast – Slides
- Fitting Functions to Data in R: Screencast
- Estimation and Fermi Problems*: Screencast – Slides
Practice problems:
- Dimensional analysis problems #3, 4, 7, 8
- Set #1
- Set #2
- Set #3
- Set #4
- Set #5
- Set #6
- Set #7
- Set #8
- Answer key
In-Class Activities:
- R Notes
- Dimensions and units summary chart
- Unit conversion using Google
- Energy and dimensions (key)
- The atomic bomb
- This example of why estimation is a useful skill, and this example
- Useful facts and Fermi practice