What are the advantages of the “Metric” system of units over the “English” system? Are there any advantages to the “English” system?
The U.S. is the only major industrialized country that still uses the “English” system of units. Why do you suppose that this is the case?
Do you think that the U.S. will ever fully adopt the metric system? Why or why not?
Do an online search to find examples of situations where a conflict of units has caused some kind of problem. This should be an example like the crash of the “Mars Climate Orbiter”. Some disasters, like the destruction of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia were not caused by this issue.
We use the scientific method to help us gain understanding about how the world works. What is the role of scientific consensus in reaching this understanding? How does the issue of consensus interact with the issue of skepticism in science?
What are some of the dangers when political pressure is put on scientists to change their results? What happens when entrenched political or economic interests are threatened by scientific findings?