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Understanding Scale: Powers of Ten

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Abstract

The classic film “Powers of Ten” is often employed to catalyze the building of more accurate conceptions of scale, yet its effectiveness is largely unknown. This study examines the impact of the film on students’ concepts of size and scale. Twenty-two middle school students and six science teachers participated. Students completed pre- and post-intervention interviews and a Scale Card Sorting (SCS) task; all students observed the film “Powers of Ten.” Experienced teachers’ views on the efficacy of the film were assessed through a short written survey. Results showed that viewing the film had a positive influence on students’ understandings of powers of ten and scale. Students reported that they had more difficulty with sizes outside of the human scale and found small scales more difficult to conceptualize than large scales. Students’ concepts of relative size as well as their ability to accurately match metric sizes in scientific notation to metric scale increased from pre- to post-viewing of the film. Experienced teachers reported that the film was a highly effective tool. Teachers reported that the design of the film that allowed students to move slowly from the human scale to the large and small scales and then quickly back again was effective in laying the foundation for understanding the different scales.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NC State University, Box 7801, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7801, USA

    M. Gail Jones, Amy Taylor, Bethany Broadwell, Eric Wiebe & Glenda Carter

  2. College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, USA

    James Minogue

Authors
  1. M. Gail Jones
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  2. Amy Taylor
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  3. James Minogue
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  4. Bethany Broadwell
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  5. Eric Wiebe
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  6. Glenda Carter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Gail Jones.

Additional information

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 0411656 and 0507151.

Appendices

Appendix A: Interview Questions

  1. A.

    Pre-Instruction Interview Questions

    1. 1.

      Have you ever heard of scientific notation? (When, where?)

    2. 2.

      Have you ever heard of powers of ten? (When, Where?)

    3. 3.

      Have you studied the sizes of things in school?

    4. 4.

      Have you studied the powers of ten in school?

    5. 5.

      What is the largest size or distance you can think of? (Can you give an example of something that size or distance?)

    6. 6.

      What is the smallest thing or distance you can think of? Can you give an example of something that size or distance?

  2. B.

    Post-Instruction Interview Questions

    1. 1.

      Were there aspects of the video that were of interest to you? If yes, what?

    2. 2.

      What did you already know about size and distance that was shown in the video?

    3. 3.

      What did you learn new about size and distance?

    4. 4.

      If you were to describe in a few words what this film was about—what would you say?

    5. 5.

      Do you think large or small scale is more difficult to understand? Why?

    6. 6.

      What does powers of ten mean?

    7. 7.

      Have you studied sizes of things in school?

    8. 8.

      Have you studied the powers of ten in school?

Appendix B: Cards in the Card Sort Task

  • 10−15 Diameter of proton

  • 10−9 Typical virus

  • 10−7 Diameter of DNA

  • 10−5 Diameter of human hair

  • 10−3 Thickness of dime

  • 10−1 Width adult’s hand

  • 100 Height 5 yr old girl

  • 101 Width of football field

  • 103 Distance you could walk in 10 min

  • 105 Distance Earth to ISS

  • 107 Diameter of Earth

  • 1011 Distance Earth to Sun

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Jones, M.G., Taylor, A., Minogue, J. et al. Understanding Scale: Powers of Ten. J Sci Educ Technol 16, 191–202 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9034-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9034-2

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