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25 Problems for STEM Education
25 Problems for STEM Education
Valery F. Ochkov
Moscow Power Engineering Institute
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
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Acknowledgment, xiii
Author, xv
INTRODUCTION, XVII
STUDY 2 ◾ Swan, Crayfsh and Pike Or: Scalar and Vector in Computer Calculations 9
ABSTRACT 9
REMARK 10
AFTERWORD 13
CONCLUSIONS 16
STUDY 13 ◾ The Journey of a Circle in a Triangle, and of a Triangle in a Hollow Or: A Self-
Directed Computer Director 151
ABSTRACT 151
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 160
STUDY 14 ◾ Interpolation, Extrapolation and Fitting Or: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics 161
ABSTRACT 161
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 178
STUDY 17 ◾ Geese Are Flying Or: The Problem of Fishermen and Fish 201
ABSTRACT 201
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 204
STUDY 18 ◾ Alphabetical Puzzle Or: Help Yourself So That the Computer Helps You! 205
ABSTRACT 205
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 208
x ◾ Contents
STUDY 19 ◾ Seven Computational Curves Or: Apollonius Bicycle and Apollo Guitar 209
ABSTRACT 209
BUG OF THE SECOND-ORDER 223
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 224
STUDY 20 ◾ Journey from Home to School on the Fermat Route Or: The Second Optical
Property of Hyperbola 225
ABSTRACT 225
MAGNIFIER FOR READING PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL REFERENCE BOOKS 233
THE THEOREM OF FERMAT AND MATHCAD 235
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 235
STUDY 21 ◾ Optimization of Potential Energy Or: Curves of the Second-Order in Statistics 237
ABSTRACT 237
NEW YEAR’S MATHCAD-POSTCARD OR NEW MATHEMATICAL CONSTANT 240
VI POINTS, VII POINTS, VIII POINTS, IX POINTS, ETC. CONSTANTS. CONCLUSION 243
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 243
STUDY 23 ◾ How to Calculate a Ship Or: How You Name a Boat, Is How it Will Sail 251
ABSTRACT 251
CENTER OF MASS, CENTER OF GRAVITY 256
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 257
STUDY 24 ◾ How to Calculate a Rocket Or: “… and on Mars Will Blossom Apple Trees” 259
ABSTRACT 259
ASSIGNMENT FOR READERS 263
STUDY 25 ◾ Hybrid Calculations on the Computer Or: One More about a Cone 265
ABSTRACT 265
CONCLUSION 271
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 271
STUDY 26 ◾ Funicular Polygons in Statics, Kinematics and Dynamics Or: Isaac Newton versus
Joseph Louis Lagrange 273
ABSTRACT 273
A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 273
PART I: STATICS 274
Contents ◾ xi
STUDY 30 ◾ What Lies behind a Simplifed Formula Or: Hybrid Calculation of the Otto Cycle 323
ABSTRACT 323
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 329
INDEX, 373
Acknowledgment
The author expresses deep gratitude to colleagues Sergey Fedorovich, Alexander Eliseev, Alexander
and friends for their help in writing this book: Bobriakov, Sergey Khorkov, Volker Lehner, Sasha
Natalia Slivina, Elena Bogomolova, Jana Kalova, Julia Gurke, Andreas Look, Viktor Korobov, Alexander
Chudova, Natalia Ochkova, Katarina Pisačić, Gizem Solodov, Vitaly Samsonov, Aung Thu Ya Tun and Jury
Karaali, Inna Vasileva, Irina Kirichenko (ladies Fedorov.
first), Evgeny Nikulchev, Massimiliano Nori, Fred Te author is immensely grateful to Massimiliano
Kohlhepp, Alan Stevens, Werner Exinger, Michael Nori, Fred Kohlhepp Alan Stevens, and Dmitry Petrov
Kirsanov, Alexey Sokolov, Vladimir Chudov, Alvaro for their great help in translating this book into English
Dias, Luc Mekes, Alvaro Falconi, Mati Hainloo, and for valuable comments.
xiii
Author
xv
INTRODUCTION
Te history of the development of methods for solv- classes is equivalent to the addition of sports simulator
ing problems in mathematics, physics and chemistry hydraulic boosters. Counting “column” can also be con-
in school and at university is, among other things, the sidered as a gym for the mind and good motor skills for
history of struggling with computational tools. First the hands. But there is another reason. We must be able
(in the oral calculations classes, for example), the use to do mental calculations in the absence of pencil and
of pen and paper was forbidden; then (when studying paper; further, we must be able to calculate with pencil
calculation with a “stick” pen on paper), the calculator and paper, in the absence of a calculator, etc. However—
was forbidden; and, fnally, when solving more complex to get fre by friction if there are no matches at hand; to
problems, using a computer with modern mathemati- be able to determine cardinal points through the trees
cal programs, such as Mathematica, Maple, MATLAB®, in the forest, if there is no compass or navigator at hand;
Mathcad, SMath, etc. (or, rather, computer programs), to be able etc. Unfortunately, or fortunately, with the
though not explicitly prohibited, was alleged to be the development of civilization, we have forgotten how to
equivalent of solving simple problems (such as 65 times do mental calculation, to obtain fre by friction, to ori-
9, for example) with a calculator. Tis prohibition was ent ourselves on the terrain by natural signs, etc. Te
not applied to the computational tools themselves schoolteacher of the author of this book did not tire of
when specially selected examples in computer science repeating in the lessons on arithmetic, that if we, his
and programming classes were being taught, but only students did not learn to count quickly and accurately
to their use to solve problems in arithmetic, trigonom- in the mind or, at least, on a sheet of paper, we would
etry, linear algebra and mathematical analysis classes. be weighed and cheated in stores. Now this motivation
However, modern schoolchildren and students do not to develop an oral calculation does not work anymore,
understand this; for them the computer is ubiquitous in because in modern supermarkets, modern methods of
both work and play. “hanging and counting” are used.
With mental calculation, everything is more or less Opponents of the use of modern computer solu-
clear. Tese exercises are wonderful gymnastics for tions for school and university tasks in mathemat-
the mind (see Study 3). Te use of calculators in these ics, physics, chemistry, etc., also rely on a number of
xvii
xviii ◾ Introduction
other arguments, which they, however, do not openly introduced into the educational process of technical
talk about. universities. If we talk about universities in the energy
First, and very unfortunately, many schoolteachers feld, in which the author of this book works, then there
and university teachers simply cannot work with mod- are programs such as ANSYS or COMSOL (modeling of
ern computer mathematical programs and/or do not heat and mass transfer processes), TermoFlow (calcula-
know about their capabilities. Tese teachers have mas- tions of thermodynamic cycles), FlowVision (modeling
tered the computer, but at the level of ofce programs of hydrodynamics). New laboratory work is created on
(text editor, table processor, email, work on the Internet) the basis of similar programs, seminars are held and lec-
and the basics of operating (fle system, etc.), but they do ture courses are taught in many advanced universities of
not want to go further, or cannot, justifying it by saying energy and power engineering.
that such programs are harmful to learners. Unfortunately, these programs are ofen used as
Second, the introduction of these programs in the “black boxes”; initial data is entered, the “box cover” is
educational process requires a thorough revision of the closed (press the Calculate button), then the user opens
content and methods of teaching, as well as the rewrit- the “cover” and takes out the results: tables with fgures,
ing of textbooks and problem books in mathemat- graphs, three-dimensional virtual objects (which can
ics, physics and chemistry or, at least, their substantial even be printed on a 3D printer), animation, etc. Tis
reprocessing. Te examples in the problem books, of means students have very vague (if any) ideas about
course, are rewritten. Before, there were, for example, what is happening in these “black boxes”. Afer all, these
“funts and arshins” (Russian obsolete units equivalent programs were created not for educational, but for com-
to pound and yard, respectively, see Study 6), and now mercial purposes, and the design code in them is hid-
“meters and kilograms”. Previously, the problem was: den from extraneous views (protected from industrial
“Te digger has dug so many meters of ditch”, and now espionage). Also, there are ofen cases when this code
“the computer has such volume of memory”, but the is hidden because it is very old and primitive, and the
essence of the tasks and the method of solving them, “modernity” of the program is visible only on its inter-
alas, do not change. face (all the steam went of in a whistle). Te beneft of
Tird, the previously mentioned computer programs this educational process is ofen close to zero. However,
are quite expensive. Our schools and universities were there are educational technologies in which a real exper-
not able to aford many of them. However, this prob- iment (for example, heating or cooling a physical body
lem is now solved. Firms that develop mathematical with temperature being measured on its surface using
programs provide substantial discounts to educational a thermal imager) is carried out in the laboratory, fol-
institutions and in some cases supply programs free lowed by the modeling and mapping of this process on
of charge. Tis has a commercial goal, of course. Afer the computer. Te comparison of images with the ther-
graduation, students who mastered the free program mal imager and with the display screen stimulates dis-
will hopefully buy it themselves or ask their employer cussion of the issues related to the essence of a physical
to buy it. Teachers should not complain about the high phenomenon, to the methods and the errors of the tools
cost of programs or the inability to work with pirated of the instrumental control, as well as to the limitations
copies for various reasons, but look for ways to solve this and the assumptions of computer programs: this pro-
problem, by contacting, for example, sofware develop- cess is modeling.
ers and their dealers. In addition, you need to remember We have now examined a kind of Scylla, meaning
that there are free versions of the programs. For exam- by this “sea monster” the way in which packages like
ple, PTC, the developer of the Mathcad program, allows ANSYS or COMSOL are implemented in the learning
a month to work with the full version of Mathcad Prime, process rather than meaning the packages themselves.
and then with its truncated version Mathcad Express, Now let’s talk about the second “monster”—about a kind
which nevertheless allows solving rather complicated of Charybdis.
mathematical problems. Currently, a large number of programs have been
And one more very important point. accumulated in the so-called high-level programming
At present, powerful sofware tools for the computer languages (Fortran, Pascal, BASIC, C, Python, etc.)
modeling of physical processes are being intensively for calculating the processes that are modeled in the
Introduction ◾ xix
previously described “black boxes”. Teachers of older never worked on a computer.† Mathcad refects the
generations are trying to “re-teach” modern students appearance of calculations made on paper, thanks
these programs (codes) in order to explain the essence to the WYSIWYG mode—what you see is what
of the calculations. But for most students, the lan- you get—“what you see (on the display screen),
guages of these programs are incomprehensible. And, then you will get (on printed paper)”. Te printouts
most importantly, the motivation of the majority of the of the solutions received in Mathcad can be lef in
students, who will never seriously code (especially in an archive so that someone reading them 50–100
these languages), is not clear, since they will use ready- years later will understand what is written there
made sofware products (the “black boxes”) or mathe- and be able to reproduce it in the new sofware
matical packages for solving their particular problems: environments that will have appeared by that time.
calculations with complex formulas, solving equations And this is very important.
and systems (algebraic and diferential), constructing
In the area of computer information technolo-
graphs, creating animations, processing statistical
gies there is currently a crisis, which we have
data, etc.
already touched on above, and which is conven-
But many teachers still try to teach students to work
tionally called the “nightmare of legacy sofware”.
with “their” programs. Tere are many possible expla-
What is it? Imagine a frm, corporation or uni-
nations for this. First, do not “dismiss an equivalent
versity that afer 30–40 years of intensive use of
product”—created with much efort and thoroughly
computers has developed and accumulated a large
tested for decades; for example, in “good old Fortran”.
number of programs of varying complexity for cal-
Second, many teachers do not know about the possibili-
culating and modeling various processes, devices
ties of new sofware or consider that they (the teachers)
and technologies in various felds of science and
are incapable of studying something new. Tird, the
technology, and also for the creation and manage-
appeal of the “good old horse”, sorry, Fortran or BASIC,
ment of databases (knowledge).
“which does not spoil furrows”. Tis is explained by the
fact that in many organizations where students end up In place of morally and physically obsolete
working afer university, Fortran is that “horse”, which computers come new computers with new hard-
is still used to “plow”, guided among other things by the ware and new operating systems. Computers are
principle that the best is the enemy of the good. integrated into local networks, which participate
We can swim between Scylla and Charybdis, if we in the process of “globalization” and are inte-
use mathematical packages, such as Mathcad, for mod- grated into the Internet—wired and wireless. Te
eling physical phenomena with details of their essence development of wireless communication between
and methods of implementation on the computer. Tat computers and servers has led to the emergence of
is the main idea of this book. “cloud” information technology. Modernization
But why Mathcad? What good is it for these kinds of cal- of the computer park ofen leads to the fact that
culations? First, of course, the fact that the author is well old applications stop running on new or updated
aware of this package and has written several books on it. computers—workstations and servers. Sometimes
However, there are, of course, objective indicators it’s just impossible to read a program from old
of the convenience of working with Mathcad.* We list media (punched cards, punched tape, a diskette
them. of various diameters, obsolete “fash drives”,
etc.), since new computers do not have appropri-
1. Good documentation of calculations. Calculations ate reading devices. We either have to completely
made in Mathcad can be printed and submitted abandon such programs and create new ones from
for review or shown to a person (teacher) who has scratch, or spend time and money on developing
or purchasing certain utilities (emulators) to run more detail in Study 1. Tis feature allows us to
old programs on new or updated computers. call Mathcad not just mathematical, but a physi-
cal and mathematical package. It was created,
But that’s not so bad. Te real trouble begins
incidentally, by a nuclear physicist by education—
when specialists, who created and supported these
Allan Razdow.
programs, leave the “frms, corporations, universi-
ties” and the young people who replace them can 3. A fexible system of variable names. Variables and
neither modernize the programs nor adapt them functions in Mathcad, with rare exceptions, have
to new requirements. Te reason for this would be the same names that were assigned to them in cer-
an insufcient documentation of codes, the lack tain scientifc and technical disciplines long before
of appropriate tools and the simple impossibility the advent of computers. For example, the Greek
of correctly reading a program written in “dead” letter η with various indices in thermodynamics is
programming languages. If, however, it is difcult the efciency (thermal, internal relative, etc.), and
to recreate or modernize the old program, using the Greek letter λ is the thermal conductivity. Tis,
old or even new programming languages, the along with the use of traditional writing of mathe-
“nightmare of legacy sofware” will reappear afer matical constants, operators and functions, as well
a while. as upper and lower indexes, makes the “language”
of Mathcad available to the uninitiated (see para-
Good documentation and detailed calculations
graph 1 above) without much additional comment.
are very important in the educational sphere. It’s
Te notation in Mathcad practically coincides
no secret that many teachers of higher educa-
with generally accepted mathematical notation:
tional institutions are opposed to the use of com-
integral, derivative, modulus, degree, etc.
puters for calculating educational tasks. We have
already looked at with this problem. Tese teach- Another four features, that are also available in
ers quite reasonably believe that such tasks need other mathematical packages (MATLAB, Maple,
to be addressed solely by use of the “pen” and not Mathematica, SMath, Derive, etc.), are listed here:
the computer, or, at least, by the means that they
4. Numerical and symbolic mathematics, which
themselves used as students. But these teachers are
make it possible to use a rich library of numeri-
referring to the use of computers as “black boxes”
cal methods for solving problems, anticipating or
(see above), in which the “initial” data are “input”
supplementing them with attempts (successful or
and from which ready-made answers are “taken
less successful) to solve the problem analytically.
out”. Mathcad is by no means a “black box”, which
Mathcad was originally created as a numerical
is contraindicated for students.
mathematics package, to which later (in the ffh
2. Working with units of measurements. Electronic version) the core of symbolic mathematics was
tables and programming languages played a cruel attached from Maple. Tis core was then (in the
joke on us—they made us accustomed to work- thirteenth version) replaced by the core of sym-
ing without physical quantities. More accurately, bolic mathematics from MuPAD. Similarly, the
we were taught to work with quantities devoid of “numerical” package MATLAB, initially also
dimension (reduced to basic SI), and to keep in had a symbolic engine from Maple that was later
mind the units of their measurement (SI units— replaced by MuPAD. Conversely the Maple and
meters, seconds, pascal, kelvin, joules, watts, etc.), Mathematica packages were originally packages of
which is very inconvenient and fraught with errors symbolic mathematics with elements of numerical
in the calculations. Also, the basic SI units them- calculations.
selves are inconvenient: the basic unit of pressure
5. Mathcad includes powerful and fexible tools for
(pascal) is very small and always requires multi-
creating 2D and 3D plots, as well as animations.
pliers of kilo or mega, the temperature in kelvins
Tis allows you to quickly and easily visualize the
ofen requires conversion to Celsius or Fahrenheit
source, intermediate and summary data without
degrees, etc. Tis problem will be considered in
calling external procedures or writing auxiliary
Introduction ◾ xxi
programs, which contributes to a better under- that return, for example, material properties
standing of the essence of the calculation, iden- (example in Figure 2.3 in Study 3), based on
tifying possible errors and false ways to solve a formulas, tables or graphs taken from an exter-
problem within it. nal source—from a paper or electronic book, as
well as from the Internet.
6. Coding. In Mathcad, mathematical actions on
the worksheet are executed on a regular sheet of
paper from lef to right and from top to bottom. Tese three possibilities could and should be used in
But sometimes it is necessary to change this order order to make available in the calculation document, for
of calculation. Tis opportunity (programming) example, functions that have as arguments the param-
is provided in Mathcad, and is successfully used eters of a particular point of the thermodynamic cycle
not only by advanced users, but also by those who and return the necessary thermophysical properties of
once mistakenly believed that they would never the working body at this point: specifc enthalpy, spe-
program. Mathcad’s programming tools allow us cifc entropy, density, specifc heat capacity (isobaric or
to solve rather complicated tasks that do not ft in isochoric), thermal conductivity, viscosity, etc. Without
the narrow framework of the sequential algorithm this, it is impossible to calculate heat engineering pro-
(from lef to right and from top to bottom). cesses (a specialization of the author).
And lastly. Calculations created in Mathcad can be
7. Mathcad provides the ability to expand the list of
placed on the server (on the Internet or on the local net-
available functions in three ways:
work) without much trouble to work without Mathcad
• Te frst method is to link Mathcad by a DLL itself. So, for example, with many calculations described
(Dynamic Link Library) mechanism with in this book, you can work through the Internet using
functions written, for example, in C program- Mathcad Calculation Server technology, without install-
ming language. ing any additional programs on your computer.
In this book, all these possibilities will be shown
• Te second is a link from the working docu-
using concrete physical and mathematical examples.
ment to other Mathcad-sheets. Because of this
And more.
link, the user variables and functions stored in
Almost all problems of the book were solved in
the linked document (fle) will become avail-
Mathcad. PTC Academic is committed to providing
able (visible, as the programmers say) also
access to Mathcad for free.
in the working document. Tese and other
PTC Mathcad Express, a lighter version of PTC
Mathcad-sheets can be downloaded to your
Mathcad is available for student and educators' down-
computer or to a local network and used as
load at https://www.ptc.com/en/products/mathcad-
templates. However, you could do this if your
express-free-download.
computer has a reliable, high-speed connection
If you are interested in purchasing full-featured PTC
to the Internet.
Mathcad for university or school - please contact PTC
• Te third method: Mathcad tools allow the academic team at https://www.ptc.com/en/academi
user to write and debug functions quickly c-program/contact-us.
STU DY 1
1
2 ◾ 25 Problems for STEM Education
1. In a physics department, students can conduct lab conductivity of an aqueous solution of NaCl, calcula-
experiments and then use a computer to access a tions were validated using the Mathcad Calculation
web page with live calculations, to enter data points Server. Tis revealed that some equations and coef-
and to ft a curve using the least-squares method. fcients in the article had typos. When these were cor-
Tis method used to be the normal approach. Now, rected the article was published free of error and with a
an increasing number of students use smartphones reference to “live” computing.
and tablets. When asked why they do not use the In this chapter of the book, we will examine vari-
lab computer, students ofen reply: “I hardly know ous aspects of computing with embedded formulas and
how to work with a standard keyboard, and I can discuss ways of improving the quality and precision of
input data faster on the tablet.” solutions by using validated formulas.
Modern calculation apps such as Mathcad can handle
2. During math, physics and chemistry classes, stu-
units of measurement. Tis is very convenient due to the
dents ofen use their mobile devices (smartphones,
automatic conversion of input and output values with
tablets, notebooks) to go to a math website and to
diferent units, and the control over their dimensional
key in an algebraic or diferential equation (see
compatibility. However, there are some issues.
Figure 1.2) in order to fnd an analytic or numeric
Tere are two types of scientifc equations—physi-
solution that validates calculations written by the
cal and empirical. Te former deal with physical values
lecturer on the blackboard.
and can be used with any appropriate units of measure-
3. Finally, during a physics class, a student might ment. Good examples of these formulas are E = m·c2
derive an equation describing string vibration and and F = m·a. Calculation apps will solve these equations
then create an animation for its visualization. correctly regardless of the units as long as they have the
right dimension, and they will indicate an error when
Tere is a new trend in the content and in the production the dimensions are not compatible. Empirical equa-
of scientifc papers, handbooks, monographs and text- tions, created as a rule by statistical treatment of experi-
books containing calculations. In the old days, authors mental (empirical) data, require numeric input in the
submitted their work to publishers in the form of typed stated units of measurement. Probably the simplest and
manuscripts with handwritten formulas and special best known empirical formula is that linking the height
characters. Now, publishers require electronic fles with of an average man with his weight [4]: height of a person
the text in MS Word and formulas created in a math in centimeters is his weight in kilograms plus 100. Tis
editor or native sofware; the formulas are scanned and formula, written in Mathcad, and the units of measure-
inserted as images into the text. ment are shown in Figure 1.1. Te results in Figure 1.1
Formulas in scientifc papers and textbooks are there are rounded, although variables in equations contain 15
for the purposes of calculation. In electronic formats, they digits in the mantissa. Tis detail is an important aspect
can be used for computing right on the screen. Printed of the creation of “live” equations. In paper handbooks,
formulas can be easily validated by using an interactive monographs and textbooks, calculation of the systems
electronic version. Tis is a revolutionary change! of equations is done by rounding intermediate results
Te production of electronic handbooks with embed- and then using these results in other equations. In com-
ded interactive equations is described in [8]. Making puter calculations, variables retain maximum precision.
equations interactive reveals many typographical and Te results of these calculations would thus be slightly
other errors in the formulas. For example, multiple errors diferent from those in paper publications.
were found during the development of a series of web- In handbooks, the basic units of measurement are
based handbooks called “Heat Technology and Power shown in the legends for physical formulas. However,
Engineering” and corrected for the subsequent edition.
During peer review of scientifc papers, we are ofen
asked by editors to validate numeric solutions. While
the damage caused by typos in regular text is negligible,
those in formulas can lead to serious consequences. For
example, during the review of an article on the thermal FIGURE 1.1 Input of a simple empirical equation.
Formulas for Calculations ◾ 3
degrees. Modern sofware has the means to remedy this what is the problem? Te reason is that, in the past,
situation. this equation was adopted for manual calculation and
Another obvious case of dimensionless quantities is for calculation with sofware that could not handle the
the use of decibels. Bel is a common logarithm of a ratio units (such as spreadsheets). However, if we remem-
of two unidimensional physical quantities, and a decibel ber the equivalence between fuel and its calorifc value
is, of course, one-tenth of a bel. By measuring a property (Qef ), we can restore the original equation b 1/(Qef·η)
in decibels we are actually converting a physical quan- and use it without any problems in Mathcad (see the
tity into a dimensionless value on a logarithmic scale. last line in Figure 1.2). Te result will have units and,
Usually, decibels are used for measuring the volume of in addition, will be more accurate. A power engineer
sound by comparing the intensity of sound waves I with using the original equation would fnd out that his/
the lowest level of sound perceivable by a human ear I0 her plant consumes almost half a gram less fuel. On a
(typically I0 = 0.01 W/m2). We can calculate the ratio I/I0 large scale it represents a huge energy saving.
directly, but the range of this ratio is very wide, mak- Te case shown in Figure 1.2 is quite common. Te
ing its use inconvenient. Tis is resolved by using loga- lack of units in the result shown in the frst line in
rithmic scale and the prefx deci, −0.1·log(I/I0). A very Figure 1.4 points to the pseudo-empirical nature of this
loud noise of a sledgehammer has a volume of 80 dB, equation.
whereas a conversation in a room has a volume of 60 In the next example, the pseudo-empirical nature of
dB and a barely audible sound such as the rustling of the formula is not so apparent. Tis formula is used to
leaves is approximately 10 dB. Decibels, as well as other convert concentration from one unit to another. When
dimensionless quantities, make calculations easier but, taken from a handbook and input into Mathcad, it pro-
again, not if we use a computer. duces an answer with the correct units of measurement
Some time ago, during transition to the SI system and, incredibly, with plausible results. Te goal is to con-
of units, STM publishers and journal editors stopped vert the molarity (the ratio of the solute to the volume of
accepting manuscripts that used other, still common, the solution) of an aqueous NaCl solution to its molality
units of measurement. Tis transition was painful for (ratio of the solute to the mass of solution). Te formula
engineers and scientists who used foot, pound and other for this conversion can be easily found in a number of
non-metric units. In spite of the prevalence of SI units, chemical handbooks and on the web (see Figure 1.3).
there are some customary, non-metric units that are We can copy an equation for calculation of molal-
still being used in many countries. For example, we (in ity (L) based on molarity (M) from the table shown in
Russia) will never learn to measure atmospheric pres- Figure 1.3. To calculate, we need to input additional val-
sure in millibars (hectopascals), preferring millimeters ues: molecular mass of NaCl (mp) and solution density
of mercury (torrs). Now, publishers are beginning to (q). Copy, input and get an incorrect answer (see the 2nd
deviate from the rules requiring the use of SI units in line of the calculations in Figure 1.4).
articles and books. One of the reasons for that is unit- In the table shown in Figure 1.3, the variable K is
enabled calculation sofware. defned as a mass percent without disclosing whether it
Some equations in journals and books could be is a mass of the solution or a mass of the solvent. An
called pseudo-empirical. Tese are basically physi- analysis of this table reveals that it is the mass of solu-
cal equations that in reality are empirical because tion and not of the solvent. However, other cases are not
they require units of measurement for computation so apparent, leading to calculation errors. For example,
(see Figures 1.3 and 1.4). Te following is an example in many analytical chemistry handbooks, solubility in
from power engineering. At a given efciency (η) of a water is given as a ratio of the mass of solute to the mass
power plant, the specifc fuel consumption (b) can be of solvent by default, without an explanation. On http:
calculated as b = 123/η. Tis means that a power plant //twt.mpei.ac.ru/MCS/Worksheets/Thermal/T90-T
with efciency 34% consumes 362 (123/0.34) grams of 68.xmcd this quantity is provided in two units of mea-
fuel to generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity. Tis surement (ratio to the mass of solvent and to the mass
simple equation would result in an incomplete solu- of solution) to prevent calculation errors. Tere are
tion in Mathcad, i.e. a solution without the units (see lots of these “defaults”. Take temperature for example.
the frst line in calculations shown in Figure 1.2). So, Here is a typical problem: the temperature at the inlet
Formulas for Calculations ◾ 5
FIGURE 1.4 Working with a pseudo-empirical formula for conversion of diferent units of concentration.
of a heat exchanger is given as 25°C, fnd the tempera- volume (cm3 vs. m3), etc. Te formula for computation
ture at the outlet if the temperature of the fuid in the of molality from molarity can, of course, be used as an
heat exchanger increases by 5°C. Te answer is 30°C. empirical one (see above) by adding the required units
However, if this problem is input into Mathcad as it is, of measurement (see 3rd line in Figure 1.6) to obtain
the answer will be paradoxically 25°С + 5°С = 303.15°С. the correct result. However, it is better to go back to the
Te answer can be explained by remembering that 5°С initial physical formula by removing the coefcients
equal 5K but 25°С is equal 298.15K. Most users under- “1000”—(see the last line in Figure 1.4), realizing that
stand this default (Celsius scale and centigrade degree) 1000 is the number of grams in a kilogram and the
as it is found in many handbooks, but computers do not. number of cubic centimeters in a liter, etc.
Also, in these calculations, users should account for the As a result, most practicing chemists, when they need
year of the temperature scale, 1968 or 1990, in which the to convert concentration from one unit to another, try
temperature is given. to avoid the existing formulas like those shown in the
Te problem here is that the equations in Figure 1.3 table in Figure 1.3. Instead, they calculate concentra-
have been adopted for the convenience of manual com- tions using ratios. Tese ratios are not required, how-
putation by using non-basic (“chemical”) units of mea- ever, if they have access to a computer with Mathcad or
surement: concentration, density (g/cm3 instead of kg/ to a website with an appropriate computational appli-
m3), molar mass (g/mol vs. kg/mol), mass (g vs. kg), cation. Tere he/she can input and solve an algebraic
6 ◾ 25 Problems for STEM Education
equation linking, for example, the moles and the mass of In Figure 1.6 an example solution is provided for the
the solute to diferent units of concentration. Mathcad conversion of molality to molarity using a formula, mod-
has a symbolic math engine that allows computing with ifed as shown in Figure 1.5 on the basis of the physical
the symbols of variables instead of their numerical val- law of the conservation of mass. Te operator clearsym
ues. Mathcad calculations with formulas for conversion that is in the collapsible area is used to remove numeric
of solution concentration from one unit to other using values of variables during symbolic transformations.
algebraic equations are shown in Figure 1.5. Tis is a Figure 1.7 shows a website for the conversion of con-
true improvement with respect to handbook formulas. centrations using the above formula. Tis site was cre-
One can see both the formulas used for the calculation ated some time ago and should be updated to show not
and the corresponding physical law-based equations just the formula itself but also the equation from which
from which the formulas are derived! it was derived (see Figure 1.6).
FIGURE 1.5 Generation of formulas for conversion of diferent types of concentration units.
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