MEASUREMENT |
LESSON 1. Numbers and Measurement Time and space in the Universe has been here long before humans. However, some individuals have questioned their surroundings. Many of these early philosophers wanted to understand their world. They realized that in order to compare objects they needed a way to create a symbol that represented discrete units so they can compare it to other units. Modeling helps to predict outcomes and develop a system that can be repeated. The systems could be used in marketing, finance, economics, music, or science.
Modeling and using the correct symbols is difficult in the abstract. For instance, if you have two apples and three oranges, can you get five lemons? The equation would be 2 + 3 = 5, but because of the equal sign you cannot mix apples and oranges! If you have one worm and you add another worm you have two worms. You can symbolically write it as 1 + 1 = 2, and you can imagine it in your head. However, could we have another situation that creates a two headed worm? No. If we could add numerals like that, mathematics would be even more difficult than it is now! |