A Googol of Atoms?
A Directed Case in Estimation and Large Numbers
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Kansas
What is a googol? Invented by Edward Kasner, an American mathematician who popularized the number in his 1940 book, Mathematics and the Imagination, it is a 1 followed by a hundred zeros. This directed case in estimation and very large numbers was written for a college-level introductory astronomy course, although it could also be used in a variety of other courses in chemistry, planetary science, biology, and mathematics.
- Practice using powers-of-ten notation.
- Given a problem, decide when the use of approximate numbers is appropriate.
- Compute approximate numbers in a problem solution.
- Analyze simple problems that lend themselves to the use of approximations.
KeywordsGoogol; scientific notation; powers of ten; relative sizes; estimation; approximation; the size of the universe
Educational LevelHigh school, Undergraduate lower division
Type / MethodsDirected
Subject HeadingsAstronomy | Mathematics | Physics | Chemistry (General) |
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