Math people! Can you explain to me what’s significant about the different ways to say this? - ThreadSky

heymrsbond.com • 22 days ago

Math people!

Can you explain to me what’s significant about the different ways to say this?

Reposted from Emmathe37th

Maths teachers assemble! 👏 How are you saying cm² out loud? What do you ACTUALLY say? Reposts welcome #mathstoday

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pegcoover.bsky.social•21 days ago

Square centimeters But my pharmacist husband would say cc’s.

dogophile.bsky.social•21 days ago

Social studies teacher here reading this thread who thought it was centimeters squared but now is filled with self doubt.

kcmath07.bsky.social•22 days ago

Conceptually, area is the number of 1 cm by 1 cm squares that fit inside a 2D (flat) object. So, saying the area is 2 square cm reinforces that idea (counting squares). As others have said, some students hear 2 cm squared and think it’s saying (2cm x 2cm).

zekrec.bsky.social•22 days ago

The confusion is over if the square applies to the value or the unit. Saying 5 centimeters squared makes it unclear if you mean (5 cm^2) or (5 cm)^2 which would actually be 25. By saying 5 squared centimeters, it indicates to the listener you mean the unit is squared (5 cm^2).

darknluvly.bsky.social•22 days ago

Ppl shouldn’t be saying “squared centimeters” at all because it’s not grammatically correct. It should be “square centimeters” or “centimeters squared.” The confusion is in the grammar. Both the latter are fine.

mrbchemnhs.bsky.social•22 days ago

Science teacher here but it's probably stemming from student confusion of operations in units. But I said something like 2 square cm that's very clear that it's the unit that is squared, 2cm^s. If I said 2 cm square students might read/hear that as doing the square function (2cm)^2

prismintcs.bsky.social•22 days ago

This is it. Especially at lower levels (middle school), kids may see 2 cm^2 and interpret as an operation rather than a unit of measurement. There are several things in secondary-level math that use that same (or similar) terminology and notation to mean different things, and it gets confusing.

emmathe37th.bsky.social•22 days ago

I still say centimetres squared, but every time I say it, I hate myself a bit.

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