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This module is part of a series of modules designed for teaching the physics component of GAME2302 Mathematical Applications for Game Development at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. (See GAME 2302-0100: Introduction for the first module in the course along with a description of the course,course resources, homework assignments, etc.)
The purpose of this module is to explain units and dimensional analysis.
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As a young engineering student many years ago, I was told that when evaluating mathematical expressions, I should always embed the units in theexpression, manipulate them algebraically, and confirm that the units that survive until the end of the evaluation are correct relative to the problemspecifications.
Three good reasons
There are at least three good reasons for following this procedure:
Multiple-line format
We might typically write a fraction as a horizontal line with the numerator above the line and the denominator below the line using superscripts to indicateexponents. The product of two fractions would typically be written in the same format with a multiplication indicator joining the two fractions.
Single-line format
Figure 1 shows multiplication and division of fractions in a single-line format similar to how we write expressions incomputer programs.
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