Scaling+The+Natural+World+Using+Dimensional+Analysis+curriculum

=Scaling The Natural World Using Dimensional Analysis Curriculum=

toc Read here about an educational agenda, activity or curriculum that relates to the concept of scale.

=Overview=

The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute in 2007 published Curriculum Unit 91.06.03 “Scaling the Natural World Using Dimensional Analysis”, to enable students to understand the scale of the natural world using the concept of rates, proportions and dimensional analysis. These concepts greatly simplify the learning process for orders of magnitude problem solving in an innovative way. This curriculum should help clarify thoughts about the magnificent scale of the rapidly changing natural world and human beings place within it.

The online version is by Stephen Kass.

=The Student Will Show Ability To=

By the end of this curriculum unit, the student will be able to calculate problems such as the following: Measurements indicate that the continents of Europe and North America are separating (plate tetonics) at the rate of about 2 centimeters per year. If Columbus could repeat his famous voyage of 1492, about how many feet or yards must he travel further?

=Curriculum Outline= I.	Introduction—Magnitude A.	Cosmological Time Scale B.	The Universe: Galaxies, Stars, and Planets C.	 Powers of Ten B.	Millions, Billions, and Trillions E.	Exponential Notation F.	Chart of Exponential Notation II. Why Use Dimensional Analysis? A.	Teaching Dimensional Analysis 1.	Definitions 2.	Rules: Single Step Rate Problems 3.	Rules: Multi-Step Rate Problems B.	Activity Sheets 1. 	Calculate the Circumference and Diameter of the Earth. 2.	How to Calculate a Light-Year 3.	Solar System Distances