The first set of problems are to start working with scientific notation and unit conversion.

1.  The distance between Cleveland and Columbus is about 148.37 miles.  What
is the distance in kilometers?  In meters?  Express your answers in scientific
notation.
 

2. How many viruses would fit across a single cell?
 
 

3. An F-15 fighter travels at about 330 meters per second.  What is that in miles
per hour?
 

4. You weigh about 50kg, roughly.  How many goldfish would it take to equal your
mass?
 

The second set of problems are to practice rough calculations, or order of magnitude calculations.  The numbers should be backed up with explanations, not just numbers.

1. Suppose we wanted to estimate how fast we could fill up Jacobs Field downtown
(capacity about 40,000 people).  Suppose people could enter by ten different gates, and
about 100 people could enter each gate per minute.  How many minutes would it
take to fill the stadium?  If you have gone to a game at Jacobs field, does this roughly
agree with your experience?
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Cleveland Hopkins Airport has a single main runway.  Suppose that on average,
each plane leaving the airport contained 100 people.  How many people could
leave from the airport in an hour?  In a normal airport day (6:00 AM - 10:00PM)?
In a year?  Look at http://www.clevelandairport.com/about/facts.asp
How does the actual number of passengers compare with your result?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Suppose I wanted to walk across the greater Cleveland area.  Normally, a good
walking speed is about 3 miles per hour, or 4.8 kilometers per hour.  How long
would it take me?  Estimate the distance by recalling any car trips you took with
your family across Cleveland.  How long did those take, and about how fast was
your family driving?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4. Make up your own order-of-magnitude problem.  The goal is to estimate something, not get an exact answer.  Make it a good one, because I will use the best one in the next
class!