Re: Would You Believe?

[paul o johnson <pojhome@FLASH.NET>]

"Van E. Neie" wrote:

> After showing that the acceleration is a = 1.98357 m/s^2, the coefficient
> of friction is determined to be
>                         mu = 0.398702
> And then they get the tension in the cord:
>                         T = 32.2819 N
> I'm guessing this has all come from a physics department, or at least from
> someone who is supposedly knowledgeable about physics.  If this kind of
> sloppiness is routine, I would sure think twice about such a service.  I
> guess we don't do much with significant figures anymore, and this is what
> can happen.

Van,  It has long been my thesis that electronic hand calculators have led not
only to students who cannot add two 2-digit numbers, or sometimes even two 1-digit
numbers, in their heads, or who cannot calculate a square root on paper, but also
to students who see nothing wrong in all answers to calculations having 6 or 8
significant digits.

What I still don't understand is why the calculator manufacturers cannot design
their machines to display the answers with the correct number of SD based on the
precision of the factors entered. It would be so simple, and it would sure save a
lot teeth gnashing.

poj
Collin County College