Texas A&M University	Spatial Sciences Laboratory
Powers of 10: That’s a lot of power! Objectives:       (1) to better understand the math behind exponents and powers of 10 (2) to have students use the metric system as it relates to the real world (3) to be able to relate mathematical exponents to the real world with remote sensing Materials:         the Powers of 10 Machine page linked here Definitions:        meter- 3.2808399 feet power of 10- a multiplicative increase by a factor of 10 Lesson Plan:     (1) Ask students to go to the Powers of Ten Machine webpage .ppt file.  Have them view each slide.                         (2) Ask them to discuss how fast the area of each image increases, as it relates to the increase in power of 10, ie from 10^2 meters, or 10 x 10 meters = 100 meters and 10^3 meters = 1,000 meters in area.                         (3) Have the students make a graph where the x axis lists the powers of 10 as shown on the Powers of Ten Machine webpage .ppt.  Make the y axis the area of each image.                          (4) Have the students list identifiable objects or groups of objects that they can see or make out at each Power of 10.  Have them write inside the graph the appropriate areas where they might see such objects.  For example, at 10^2 we can see buildings, at 10^4we can see neighborhoods, and at 10^6 we can see cities.