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Math Tools Chapters 9-12
By Ryan Catanese
Directional Measurements
A mile is 5,280 feet while a nautical mile is 6,080 feet. A knot is a measure of speed, one nautical mile per hour. When working with time, rate, and distance problems, make sure to keep the units of measurement the same. Distance = rate x time, Rate = distance / time, and Time = distance / rate.
Speed indicates how fast something is going, while the velocity also indicates the direction. Average speed = distance / time. Acceleration is the rate of change of the speed, acceleration = (ending velocity – starting velocity) / time. In order to determine the ending velocity, (Acceleration x time) + starting velocity = ending velocity.
A g-force is a measure of acceleration, with one “g” represent the force of gravity on the Earth’s surface, or 32.2 feet per second per second. For reference, a kick exerts about 300 g’s on a soccer ball.
Weight and mass are not the same. Mass is a measure of amount wile weight is a measure of the force of gravity pulling on an object. So, mass stays the same regardless of gravity, while the weight changes.
The decibel is a unit of measure for the intensity of sound. One decibel is the softest sound detectable by the human ear, and the ears begin to hurt at 120 dB.
Question: If a boat is traveling at 20 knots, how many miles per hour is that?
How Green is Green?
By Ryan Catanese
December 1, 2008
Have you noticed anything different on Elon’s campus lately?
Have you seen the signs around campus for locally-grown food? Have you noticed that Elon security now has several Smart Cars in their fleet? Or maybe you have seen the shiny new Priuses parked outside of Moseley that are dedicated for student use?
There is a spectrum of views on sustainability. Some think that it is of the highest importance, and some think it is less of a priority.
Regardless of what your stance is, Elon is spending a lot of money to be more sustainable, so if you are a student here, this pertains to you.
In 2006, Elon created an Environmental Council, and in 2008, hired a full-time employee, Elaine Durr, whose sole job it is to push Elon towards a more sustainable future. So what have they done?


