tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post703256038075612760..comments2024-01-02T10:55:10.607-06:00Comments on Angry Astronomer: Measuring the Mass of a Penny (without measuring a single one)Jon Voiseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550625188837528980noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post-91159833637131680902010-09-09T15:42:44.942-05:002010-09-09T15:42:44.942-05:00One thing I concentrated pretty hard on was making...One thing I concentrated pretty hard on was making sure all the pennies were all fresh. None with gum stuck to them, or corrosion eating away portions of them.<br /><br />Perhaps another thing that could built on this would be to look at the standard deviations of different ones students think to be similar. When my students performed this, there were a few other masses that popped up a lot but the true one had the tightest distribution.Jon Voiseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550625188837528980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post-67669262665026559532010-09-09T15:04:03.595-05:002010-09-09T15:04:03.595-05:00I tried this with my Modern Physics class today. T...I tried this with my Modern Physics class today. They picked the wrong value for the mass of a penny, but still thought that it was useful in getting the point across. I think more careful measurement of the masses will help, but otherwise I'm not sure how to improve it so that they actually get the correct answer.Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06225141731323795678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post-1495318829680337112010-01-31T21:44:34.819-06:002010-01-31T21:44:34.819-06:00Cool! Can't wait to hear how it goes. Did you ...Cool! Can't wait to hear how it goes. Did you do a few trials runs?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post-11953270356051250942010-01-31T18:18:20.337-06:002010-01-31T18:18:20.337-06:00Depending on the number of groups, you may also ha...Depending on the number of groups, you may also have them subtract the totals of two or more groups to create more "nq" values. If you pick similar masses to subtract, it also guarantees a smaller integer value (and thus fewer numbers to choose from).Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06225141731323795678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post-22293871398290465922010-01-31T12:26:44.023-06:002010-01-31T12:26:44.023-06:00Sounds freaking awesome. Perhaps they might not f...Sounds freaking awesome. Perhaps they might not find it so amazing, but its an ingenious thing for the electronBrian Roperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01783521532982513845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25327006.post-27343493088952029392010-01-31T12:19:53.397-06:002010-01-31T12:19:53.397-06:00Sounds great, I hope it works out!Sounds great, I hope it works out!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com