/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.5763777]

Do American students constantly need to painstakingly convert between your bizarre-ass units and the scientific ones? Like Fahrenheit/Kelvin. Because that'd explain part of why your school grades can't compare to my own country's average. After all, we're all used to meters and the like here, which gives us a advantage in not being as bored at school institutions when learning physics.

[Anonymous No.5763780]

No, American sciences use SI like everyone else.

> meters

[Anonymous No.5763790]

>>5763780
Cool. Then again, only an asshole would make kids go through with that brainfart I just came up with.

[Schaiffe !zribfvVT8o No.5763796]

>>5763777
They would not need to convert units. Units used in the question would be the same as the units that they ask for in the answer. So there is no conversion to do.

[metric !1tensorX8Q No.5763833]

Engineering classes tend to work with both SI units and English units, because a lot of oldfag engineers still use the English system. Intro physics classes pretty much exclusively use SI units, and more advanced classes use Planck units or geometric units.

[Anonymous No.5763859]

>>5763796
I've gotten plenty of questions asking me to jump through hoops converting units around.

[Anonymous No.5763883]

>>5763777
At work I often "translate" engineering and architectural reports for people using the data to write contracts for services.
I'm one of the few people who has to convert often but it's an easy thing to get good at. most times I can do it in my head these days.

[Anonymous No.5763886]

>>5763777
In Canada, we would often have American textbooks in high school. They would indeed spend forever converting units, and it pissed us off to no end because none of us had ever used (or wanted to use) them.

[Anonymous No.5763904]

No, American science classes use SI more or less exclusively.

[Anonymous No.5763918]

>>5763886
In other words, Us students are better than the rest of the world because we can do this easily and you can't do it at all.

[Anonymous No.5764471]

>>5763777
>Coherent systems

[Anonymous No.5764517]

>>5763777
Engineering classes use both, because American engineering is in an awkward transition phase where a lot of old stuff is still in American- and new stuff needs to be in American to fit it- but all the rest is in Metric.

American science classes use metric exclusively, though.

[Anonymous No.5764825]

While American science classrooms (and most scholastics in general) use SI, the standard system is still the colloquial units of measure in most everyday life.

Anyone who takes more than a few science calls in University or liked it in high school sees the convenience of working with powers of 10 for quick calculation purposes.

I personally believe growing up with SI and using it everyday is plays a big part in why the US lags behind in math and science because it is an inherent barrier to smooth learning in those subjects. Those that are passionate students or have inherent interests work around this and learn to embrace SI.

National tests examine everyone, not just the ones thinking in powers of 10, SI, etc. I imagine it would be a barrier of converting to standard units and back in one's head to process information. Much like learning a new language and trying to make sense of your new one in terms of your old ones, and vice-versa.

[Anonymous No.5764848]

>>5763777
>why your school grades can't compare to my own country's average
Because our classes aren't easy babby padded grade classes like yours.

We have world-class institutions like MIT, CIT, and Yale. What you have is equal to our communities colleges. Lol.

[Anonymous No.5764851]

It's stupid to assume something as large as the education system in America can be failing because of one simple fact like unit conversion. There's way more reasons why US education sucks (some places) other than this. While it might be a contributing factor, it's relatively quite minor.

Most average Americans usually know metric just as well as Fahrenheit. Any high school drop out drug dealer is an expert in SI weights and measurements. Once the old school of using the English system grows old, dies, and machinery replaced, it will be all SI. Don't worry, just be patient.

In the mean time quit coming up with stupid excuses not to know this basic shit. Seriously is it really that hard for you lazy ass foreigners to do a simple conversion? Americans can do it in their sleep.

[Anonymous No.5766823]

We really stick to the metric system for any science, but don't get me started on how fucking irritating rote unit conversion is.
Ever seen a projectile motion problem stated in nanometers?

[Anonymous No.5766951]

Americans always seem to think there's some quick fix to their problems

1) Coins for $1 and $2
2) Metric units for teaching

Well we have both of those things where I live and I can tell with certainty that they don't lead to a utopia. Coins always accumulate in a little container on your desk unless you make a special effort to use them as soon as you get them. SI units don't stop our students from being dumb as shit either.

[Anonymous No.5766953]

You don't actually have to do unit conversions very often at all. Science is about understanding, not fancy footwork converting cubic centimetres into cubic metres. And maths is about numbers and reasoning, not units. You don't do caluclus in kilograms or pounds.

[Anonymous No.5767875]

>>5763833
Planck units are just constants and the measurement is SI units. Not sure where you are going with this.

[Anonymous No.5767902]

>>5766953
>a teacher writes a cocnentration as g/cm^3 for an aqueous sample
>mfw people in my class get confused how to change this to ppm

[Anonymous No.5770296]

America uses the tried & true regular system of measurement. When will the rest of the world catch up?

Oh, and while you're at it, stop calling soccer Football, OK? Cause football is an American sport that predates soccer by many decades.

[Anonymous No.5770310]

>>5763886

That's what you get for foisting Celine Dion on us.