On a lighter note than the ongoing debate: (1) If you have a PDF file of the set of metric flashcards I created, there are two errors that need to be corrected. First, the Celsius to Kelvin card is wrong (should be oC +273.15 --> K). Second, the card that says "estimate the mass of a nickel," should be "nickel: 5 g" on the back.
(2) I had nine technical employees (engineers and technicians) take an "in-house" version of the CAMS test last week. Seven of nine failed. Some comments: (a) It was a test I created, so I could be confident they would pass before they applied to the USMA for the real CAMS test. I think it is a substantially more difficult test, in part because it is not all multiple choice (half the questions require rewriting something correcting the errors). (b) It was entirely self-study (using Dennis Brownridge's book and my flashcards). (c) The main problem was that the engineers seemed to think they already knew enough metric, so most did not really study much, and were really weak in the style area. (d) The two who studied hard did well: 92% and 88%. So I now have some more humble engineers, and will test them again (after a class-type review) in January. Hopefully by end of the first quarter we'll have a whole bunch of CAMS people at the company. Jim Elwell (CAMS) P.S. We found an error in Dennis' book that is not in his errata. Does anyone have an email address for him? I used to have it but cannot find it.
