Below is a blind copy of my e-mail to the editors of Teaching Children
Mathematics, an NCTM monthly publication.
Gene.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 13:40:58 -0600 (CST)
From: Gene Mechtly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Gayle Cloke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Nola Ewing <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Dory Stevens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Math Within, 2002 Jan
Dear Editors of TCM:
NCTM webnews led me to the article Light The Math Within, which begins
on page 280 of "Teaching Children Mathematics" (TCM) 2002 January.
I am pleased that the article cites <www.saltlake2002.com.> which is
the Web address of official Olympic data.
Official Olympic data are almost 100% in the SI form of metric units
of measurement, as school children will observe when they visit
saltlake2002.com. If non-SI units are included at all, they are printed
in *secondary* locations.
Accordingly, temperatures in the exercise "Cold as ice" on page 281
would more appropriately have been written as -9 degreesC (16 degreesF)
for "fast ice" preferred by hockey players, and written as -5.5 degreesC
(22 degreesF) for "soft ice" preferred by figure skaters.
Note that I have substituted the word "degrees" for its symbol
to preclude faulty transmission by e-mail over the Internet.
Also note that, the international convention is "-9 degreesC" but *not*
"-9degrees C" i.e. the space is placed between the number and the *unit
symbol* rather than between the degree symbol and C (for Celsius).
Consult <www.nist.gov> to confirm this standard format.
In the exercise "Travel cents" which is based on the fact that
"Canadians use the metric system" why are non-metric units used.
In the exercise "Hold on to your hat!" for the fastest luge track,
why are "feet", "miles", and "MPH" used?
Official Olympic data are posted almost exclusively in metric units.
There are almost *no* "feet", "miles", or "MPH" to burden Olympians.
Antiquated non-metric units are now residual only in the USA. They are
presently being discarded for almost all legal commerce and trade in the
United Kingdom in compliance with requirements of the European Union.
Please convey these thoughts to the author(s) of the article. Thanks.
Eugene A. Mechtly
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (uiuc)
1406 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
