Chapters nine through 12 are all about measurements. More than just journalists, these numbers and figures are useful for the common good. Everyday figures and numbers are ones that can be referenced often, and can be used all the time.
Chapter nine discusses directional measurements that everyone should know, as well as measurements that aren’t as well known. The chapter discusses time, rate and distance problems, as they are all linked to the same formula.
Distance = rate x time
Rate = distance / time
Time = distance / rate
In these examples, rate relates to how fast something happens over an amount of time. This could mean miles per hour, feet per second, etc.
Chapter 9 also discusses speed, velocity and acceleration. Wickham is quick to note that speed and velocity are not the same measurement. Speed simply measures how fast something is going, while velocity indicates speed plus a direction.
Acceleration is a measurement that is an amount of velocity over time. It can be found by using the following formula:
Acceleration = (ending velocity – starting velocity) / time
Wickham also describes in Chapter 9 that weight and mass are not the same figure. Mass is measurable amount. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity pulling on an object.
Momentum is a figure that is used to stop an object from moving. While all moving objects have momentum, it is the product of mass and velocity.
Momentum = mass x velocity
Chapter 10 deals with area measurements, which pop up in all kinds of news stories. Wickham says that there is two ways to explain measurements. The first way is by analogy, by comparing one thing to another. This can be expressed through a statement such as “the tree was as tall as the four-story building”. The second way is through simple, accurate numbers that are easy to digest.
Perimeter can be used to find the area around an object:
Perimeter = (2 x length) + (2 x width)
To find areas of squares and rectangles, use length x width.
Circumference, which is used to find the area around an object, can be calculated using the following formula:
Circumference = 2π x radius
To find the area of a circle, you multiply π by the radius squared.
Chapter 11 deals more with volume measurements. Reporters can find these figures as being particularly useful, especially when figuring out how much something holds, etc.
Some common liquid conversions for volume measure include:
2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce
1 pint = 16 ounces
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
1 U.S. standard barrel = 31.5 gallons
The last figure, gallons/barrel is especially useful with journalists, as the price of oil is a current economic concern, and can be found in the news regularly. Knowing how many gallons are actually in a “barrel” can help differentiate the price of oil.
Finally, Wickham describes how to calculate the area for rectangular solids in the end of chapter 11. It can be found using the following formula:
Volume = length x width x height
Chapter 12 helps dispel errant thoughts about the metric system, and how to easily convert figures into the metric system. Since the metric system is based on the decimal system, users can easily switch from one unit to another very easily.
The prefixes for the metric system include:
micro (one millionth)
milli (one thousandth)
centi (one hundredth)
deci (one tenth)
no prefix (one)
deka (10)
hecto (100)
kilo (1000)
mega (1 million)
giga (1 billion)
tera (1 trillion)
To convert from American units to metric units, use the following coversions:
American lengths to metric lengths– multiply inches by 2.5 to find centimeters.
Metric lengths to American lengths– multiply centimeters by 0.4 to get inches.
American area measurements to metric area measurements– multiply square inches by 6.5 to find square centimeters.
Metric area measurements to American area measurements– multiply square centimeters by 0.16 to get square inches.
American mass measurements to metric mass measurements– multiply ounces by 28 to find grams.
Metric mass measurements to American mass measurements– multiply grams by 0.035 to get ounces.
Farenheit to Celsius– Celsius = .56 x (Farenheit – 32 degrees)
Celsius to Farenheit– Farenheit = (1.8 x Celsius) + 32 degrees.
Example problems:
John took the train from Boston to Washington. It took him 85 minutes to travel 250 miles. What was his average speed?
Average speed = 250 miles / 85 minutes = 2.94 miles/minute.
Chris wants to find how big the pumpkin that he picked from the pumpkin patch is around. The radius of the pumpkin is 9 inches. How big around is the pumpkin?
Circumference = 2π x radius = 2π x 9 inches = 56.25 inches around.
Sydney wants to find the total volume of a pitcher in order to put the most mount of lemonade in it. If the pitcher is 7 inches long by 6 inches wide by 9 inches wide, how much lemonade can she put in the pitcher?
Volume = length x width x height = 7 inches x 6 inches x 9 inches = 378 cubic inches.
Todd is in England and needs to change a car tire. However, he only has American measurements on his car tires. If Todd’s tire is 62 centimeters tall, how tall will Todd’s American tire have to be?
Inches = centimeters x 0.4 = 62 x 0.4 = 24.8 inches.
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