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Topic 1: Measurement in Your Daily Life: Uses, Tools, and Challenges

"Measure what can be measured and make measurable what cannot be measured."

— Galileo Galilei

You use different forms of measurement throughout your daily life, at home, at work, and in other day to day activities. For example, when brewing a pot of coffee in the morning, both the water and the coffee grounds must be measured to create a cup (or two) to start off the day. On the drive to work, or school, you also must consider the time of day and associated traffic, the distance to travel, and the amount of gas in the tank of the car.

Reflect on your daily life and think about the various ways in which you use measurement. Then, discuss the following.

· Choose something that you measure on a daily basis. What do you measure and how do you measure it (what tool or device do you use, and what are the measurement units)? How is this measurement important or necessary within your daily life?

· What would the consequences be if your measurements were inconsistent or incorrect? In science and in your daily life, what are the advantages of precise and accurate measurement?

· Think back to this week’s Reading, including the section on  Units and Numbers . How could standardized measurement improve your own measurement practices? Why is standardized measurement important within specific fields of science? Try to focus on one field (medicine, environmental science, geology, etc.) and provide an example of how standardized measurement allows for scientists to both clearly communicate their results as well as record their observations.

· There is some discussion of having the US convert over to the metric system since most of the world uses it as their main system of measurement. Only the US and a few others such as Myanmar and Liberia don't use the metric system. Should the US convert to the metric system to make trade and communication easier? Would the average citizen in the US be comfortable with this change?

Review the Discussion guidelines . Reference: Trefil, J., & Hazen, R. M. (2015). The sciences: An integrated approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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