Article

Can One Take the Logarithm or the Sine of a Dimensioned Quantity or a Unit? Dimensional Analysis Involving Transcendental Functions

Department of Chemistry and Physics, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3M 2J6
Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4J3
Hunter College and the Graduate School, City University of New York (CUNY), New York, New York 10021, United States
Department of Chemistry and Physics, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3M 2J6
Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3M 2J6
J. Chem. Educ., 2011, 88 (1), pp 67–70
DOI: 10.1021/ed1000476
Publication Date (Web): October 13, 2010
Copyright © 2010 The American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Abstract

The fate of dimensions of dimensioned quantities that are inserted into the argument of transcendental functions such as logarithms, exponentiation, trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions is discussed. Emphasis is placed on common misconceptions that are not often systematically examined in undergraduate courses of physical sciences. The argument of dimensional inhomogeneity of the terms of a Taylor expansion of a transcendental function presented in some nonpeer-reviewed popular Internet sites is shown to be false.

Keywords (Topic):

Kinetics; pH

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Published online 13 October 2010
Published in print 1 January 2011
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