Program Overview
Program #1
Program #2
Program #3
Program #4
Program #5
City Club 2001 Schedule
National Projects Main
National Projects Academy of Learning
Program #2:
The Idea of Numbers: Mathematics, Metrics and You
Mon., March 26th
National Projects invites you to exercise your body of knowledge at the National Projects
Academy of Learning. Classes are completely free and open to the public in this voluntary, media
rich school experience held in the City Club Cinema.
school opens 8pm; class begins at 8:30pm
all in class beverages $1 off
film excerpts and in entirety to include:
The Idea of Numbers (an introduction to Number Systems)
(16mm, 1961, 14m., color,International Film Bureau)
Beginning with man's earliest number concepts, such as the notion of "one" and
"many", this film traces the development of the decimal system. With man's
increasing use of numbers, the conventional Arabic numeral notations have yielded
to the binary system for use in computers. A clear exposition of the binary
system concludes this film.
The Story of Our Number System (16mm, 1957, 10m., b&w, Coronet Instructional Films)
Traces the historical development of numbers, including the counting systems
of the Babylonian Empire, the Mayan civilization, and Rome; the development
of calculating with the abacus; the need for a place holder, which became the
zero; and the probable development of our present symbols.
How Do You Count (16mm, 1963, 12m., color, International Film Bureau)
There are more ways to count than you may realize. How Do You Count questions
our current methods of counting and asks if there may be a better system. We
conclude with an introduction to the binary system of counting.
The Metric System (16mm, 1959, 11m., b&w, Coronet Instructional Films)
Visualizes the origin and basic principles of the metric system and the extent
and advantages of its use. Encourages us to "think metrically" and to develop
our personal "yardsticks" which we can use to estimate lengths, areas and weights
in metric units.
The Metric System (16mm, 1965, 13m., color, Tele-mated Motion Pictures for McGraw-Hill)
Electricity, heat, light, and atomic structure are studied utilizing a system of
weights and measures known as The Metric System. Animated definitions of the
metric terms are shown as we are taught the ins and outs of this useful and
far easier to use number system.
What Are Metrics (16mm, 1975, 14m., color, Orsatti Productions)
Demonstrates the confusing variety of numbers and measurements we currently
use - and then describes the simplicity of the metric system and provides a
beginning metric vocabulary. "Metric Man" explains to us the ease of the metric
way through animation and song.
Metric Measures (16mm, 1970, 15m., color, Bailey Film Associates)
This William Boundey production focuses on Jim and his school project of constructing
a scale model of the earth, the sun, and the distance between them. Jim is
confused and frustrated until his father, an engineer, suggests the Metric
System as a means of simplifying the problem. This makes much more sense
to Jim and he is easily able to accomplish his task. Of noted
interest, George Arbogast Jr., former elementary mathematics supervisor
of the Los Angeles City Schools served as educational consultant on this project.
A Computer Glossary (16mm, 1968, 9m., color, Ray & Charles Eames)
Fully entitled A Computer Glossary: or coming to terms with the data processing machine,
this film uses an understanding of the jargon of computers to convey something of the
nature of computers. This was typical of the Eames' approach to educational filmmaking.
Jargon was not off-putting, but rather a potential window into another world. First
screened at the IBM Corporation Pavilion at The Hemisfair, during the 1968 WorldsÕ
Fair in San Antonio, TX.
Statistics at a Glance (16mm, 1972, 25m., color, John Wiley & Sons Inc.)
The world we live in is full of complex information. Statistics are a tool for helping
us make sense of all of this information. In, Statistics at a Glance, the groundwork
of statistical analysis is outlined. The film explains to us, using computer graphics,
that descriptive statistics are a method for organizing and summarizing data so that
the data can be understood quickly and expressed in precise and accurate terms. It
illustrates the measures of central tendency, such as mean, median, and mode, in a
frequency distribution. It also demonstrates the use of variability, standard
deviation, Z-scores, percentile rank, and correlation as they relate to
frequency distribution. Further discussion includes the definitions of
ordinates and abscissas, and an explanation of scales of frequencies.
