DNL Sciences Physique, Seconde
Units
1.
Extract from “Big Bang Theory” a.
What is the weight of the car? of Penny? of Shelton? Can you convert them into kilograms? b.
What is the speed of the car? Can you convert it in kilometers per hour? c.
Fill in the blanks of the script given by the teacher.
2.
Read the text
The History of Measurement
“The first units of length were based on the human body. For instance, a “hand” was the width of a person’s palm. However, the size of the hand differed from person to person and place to place. According to tradition, the yard originally was the distance from the tip of the nose of King Henry I to the tips of his fingers. The foot is supposedly based on the foot of Charlemagne, who ruled France and neighbouring areas. These rough units were sufficient for most purposes. For the purpose of accurate building, more precise measuring units were needed.
Around the year 1600, scientific experimentation began and more accurate measurement was necessary.
Scientists from different countries needed to be able to communicate with each other about their work.
About 1760, the industrial revolution began. Hand tools were being replaced by power-driven machines.
Accurate, consistent measurement was needed everywhere.
The writers of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 recognized the need for standardized units. One article in the
Constitution reads, “The Congress shall have power...to fix the standard of weights and measures.” In 1790,
Thomas Jefferson proposed to Congress a measuring system based on the number 10. This would closely relate the measuring system to the decimal system. Five years later the metric system, based on the number 10, was established in France. We could have been the first country with this system, but we were emotionally tied to
England, who at this time was an enemy of France. We adopted the English system of measurement instead of
France’s metric system.
It was not until 1866 that the metric system became legal in the United States. At first, the metric system was used mainly in science. As the years went by, use of the metric system spread to more fields of study and to more countries. Even England converted to the metric system.
The old “English System” of “British Imperial system” has evolved into the “U.S. system” or the “Customary system of measurement.” In the United States today, we measure in both the Customary and Metric systems. ”
The Metric System of Measurement
“Linear measurements such as Width and Length are the distance from one end (point) of an object to the opposite end (point) of that same object. Length can be measured using a ruler or meter stick. People can use kilometer or km to measure a long distance to travel such as from Baltimore to New York. A meter stick with centimeters marked on it can be used to find out your height. Carpenters use linear measurement to find the area
(length x width = unit squared) of the floor to lay carpet. A dog owner can use length and width to measure the perimeter (length + length + width + width) around a space to build a fence.
Mass is the measurement for weight (the amount gravity places on an object). Mass can be measured using a balance scale. Your body mass can be measured using kilograms of kg. Drugstores fill vitamins and tablets in milligrams of mg.
Capacity is the measurement of the amount of space that matter occupies. Capacity can be measured using a graduated cylinder. Soft drink manufacturers are now selling your favorite soda in one-liter and two-liter containers. Automobile gas tank size is measured in liters. Doctors can prescribe some types of medicine in milliliters for you. Your pharmacist then fills the prescriptions for cough syrup in milliliters. Your grocery store has cans and bottles which have the capacity in milliliters (ml) printed on the label. “
From the NSA (National Security Agency) website (USA)
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a.
Complete the chart with words from the text :
French
Diriger (régner).
Juste, précis, exact.
English French
Associer.
English
Le bout.
Règle, dirigeant.
Attacher, associer à.
Poser, étaler.
La paume.
Réservoir, citerne
Brutal, rudimentaire.
Régulier, constant.
Une barrière.
Essence (us)
Principalement.
Menuisier, charpentier.
But.
Toux. b.
Prepare a summary of the text “The history of measurement”. It must be less than 10 lines.
Your summary must contain the principle ideas you will remember of the text.
3.
Tables
For information, here is a chart with some units used in England and in the USA :
Unit French name
Unit English name Divisions SI Equivalent
Length
Pouce
Pied
Yard
Mille (terrestre)
Mille (nautique)
1 inch (in)
1 foot (ft)
1 yard (yd)
1 mile (mi)
½ ft
12 in
3 ft
5280 ft or 1760 yd
2.54 cm
30.48 cm
91.44 m
1.61 km
Lieue
Pied carré
Yard carré
Acre
Mille carré
1 nautical mile (NM or nmi)
1 league (lea)
1 square foot
Area
1 square yard
1 acre
1 square mile
Volume (capacity)
3 mi
1.85 km
4.83 km
0.1 m 2
0.8 m 2
4047 m 2
2.6 km 2
Pinte
Gallon
1 pint (pt)
1 gallon (gal)
0.57 L (UK)
0.47 L (US)
4.5 L (UK)
3.7 L (US)
Mass
Livre Pound (lb) 0.45 kg
Temperature
Degré Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit Degree
T(°C)=(5/9)×(T(°F)-32)
SI (last column) means “International System of Units”
“It is the modern form of the metric system. The SI was established in 1960, based on the metre-kilogram-second system [...] The SI has been declared to be an evolving system; thus prefixes and units are created and unit definitions are modified through international agreement as the technology of measurement progresses, and as the precision of measurements improves.
SI is the world's most widely used system of measurement, used in both everyday commerce and science. The system has been nearly globally adopted with the United States being the only industrialised nation that does not mainly use the metric system in its commercial and standards activities. The United Kingdom has officially adopted a partial metrication policy, with no intention of replacing imperial units entirely.”
Extract from wikipedia
Fahrenheit degrees are used in the United States, England and Canada to measure temperatures in most non-scientific contexts. Scientists worldwide use the Kelvin and Celsius degrees.
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a.
Now, can you give the weight of Penny, Sheldon, the car and the speed of the car in SI? b.
What are the boiling and freezing temperature of water in Celsius degrees? in Fahrenheit degrees? c.
Can you find different advantages (4-5) to the International System of Units ?
4.
Exercise 1
Match the items with the correct unit of measurement used for linear measure, capacity or mass.
Unit of measurement : cm , g , m , mL , mm , kL , kg
Mass of a horse : _____
Thickness of a coin : _____
Width of a piece of bread : _____
Capacity of a swimming pool : _____
Mass of an orange : _____
Capacity of a spoon : _____
Width of a football field : _____
5.
Exercise 2 a.
Katie’s dog weighs 35 kilograms. How much is this in grams?
b.
A race is 2500000 centimeters long. How long is it in meters? In kilometers?
c.
How many milliliters are there in 4 liters of soda? d.
3m = ……..…. cm e.
1.6m = ………….... cm f.
250cm = ………………... m g.
50mg = ……………… g h.
4589g = ……….. kg i.
How many liters are there in 5,050 mL? j.
3,58cm = ………..….. m
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Script of the Video “The Big Bang Theory” - Fill the blanks -
How come you didn't go into work …………….…. ?
I'm taking a ………..……… because I won't kowtow to mediocre minds.
So you got canned, huh?
Theoretical physicists do not get canned ... but yeah.
Maybe it's all for the best. I always say when one door closes, another one opens.
No, it doesn't. Not unless the two doors are connected by relays or there are ………..……. sensors involved.
No, I meant...
Or if the first door closing creates a change of air ………………….. that acts upon the second door.
Never mind.
………..……...
Please, slow down!
We're fine!
You're not leaving yourself enough space between cars.
Oh, sure, I am.
No, let me do the math for you. This car weighs, let's say ……………… . Now add ……….………..,
………….…..
...
…………..…..?
…………….….
I'm sorry. Did I insult you?
Is your body mass somehow tied into your self-worth?
Well, yeah.
Interesting.
Anyway, that gives us a total ……………. of, let's say …………… pounds.
Let's say ……………….
Fine. We're traveling forward at … good Lord … ………………………..
.
Let's assume that your ………………. are new and the calipers* are aligned. Still, by the time we come to a stop, we'll be occupying the same space as that Buick in front of us, an impossibility that nature will quickly
…………………. into death, mutilation...
Script of the Video “The Big Bang Theory” - Fill the blanks -
How come you didn't go into work …………….…. ?
I'm taking a ………..……… because I won't kowtow to mediocre minds.
So you got canned, huh?
Theoretical physicists do not get canned ... but yeah.
Maybe it's all for the best. I always say when one door closes, another one opens.
No, it doesn't. Not unless the two doors are connected by relays or there are ………..……. sensors involved.
No, I meant...
Or if the first door closing creates a change of air ………………….. that acts upon the second door.
Never mind.
-
………..……...
Please, slow down!
We're fine!
You're not leaving yourself enough space between cars.
Oh, sure, I am.
No, let me do the math for you. This car weighs, let's say ……………… . Now add ……….………..,
………….…..
...
…………..…..?
-
…………….….
I'm sorry. Did I insult you?
Is your body mass somehow tied into your self-worth?
Well, yeah.
Interesting.
Anyway, that gives us a total ……………. of, let's say …………… pounds.
Let's say ……………….
Fine. We're traveling forward at … good Lord … ………………………..
.
Let's assume that your ………………. are new and the calipers* are aligned. Still, by the time we come to a stop, we'll be occupying the same space as that Buick in front of us, an impossibility that nature will quickly
…………………. into death, mutilation...
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Notes professeur :

Source initiale : http://europhys.stav.free.fr/DNL.htm

Source originale site NSA National Security Agency : http://www.nsa.gov/academia/_files/collected_learning/middle_school/pre-algebra/metric_meals2.pdf

Big Bang Theory : season 1 ep 4 from 5’19 to 6’49
How come you didn't go into work today?
I'm taking a sabbatical because I won't kowtow to mediocre minds.
So you got canned, huh?
Theoretical physicists do not get canned ... but yeah.
Maybe it's all for the best. I always say when one door closes, another one opens.
No, it doesn't. Not unless the two doors are connected by relays or there are motion sensors involved.
No, I meant...
Or if the first door closing creates a change of air pressure that acts upon the second door.
Never mind.
Slow down.
Please, slow down!
We're fine!
You're not leaving yourself enough space between cars.
Oh, sure, I am.
No, let me do the math for you. This car weighs, let's say 4,000 pounds . Now add 140 for me, 120 for you ...
120?
120
I'm sorry. Did I insult you?
Is your body mass somehow tied into your self-worth?
Well, yeah.
Interesting.
Anyway, that gives us a total weight of, let's say 4,400 pounds.
Let's say 4,390 .
Fine. We're traveling forward at … good Lord … 51 miles an hour . Let's assume that your brakes are new and the calipers* are aligned. Still, by the time we come to a stop, we'll be occupying the same space as that
Buick in front of us, an impossibility that nature will quickly resolve into death, mutilation...
Oh, look, they built a new putt-putt course.
* Etrier de frein

 4,000 : four thousand pounds
140 : one forty or one hundred and forty
120 : one twenty or one hundred and twenty
4,400 : forty four hundred or four thousand four hundred
4,390 : forty three ninety or four thousand three hundred and ninety

Biblio : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit%C3%A9s_de_mesure_anglo-saxonnes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_customary_units http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_imperial_and_US_customary_measurement_systems
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