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My version of the script is shown in Listing 1.

Listing 1 . Exercise on scale factors
<!-- File JavaScript01.html --><html><body><script language="JavaScript1.3">//Do the computations var origLine = 100var lineA = 2 * origLine var lineB = (25/100) * origLinevar lineC = (1 + 25/100) * origLine var lineD = (1 - 25/100) * origLine//Display the results document.write("Original line = "+ origLine + "</br>") document.write("A = " + lineA + "</br>") document.write("B = " + lineB + "</br>") document.write("C = " + lineC + "</br>") document.write("D = " + lineD + "</br>")</script></body></html>

Screen output

When you copy the code from Listing 1 into an html file and open the file in your web browser, the output text shown in Figure 1 should appear in yourbrowser window.

Figure 1 . Screen output for Listing #1.
Original line = 100 A = 200B = 25 C = 125D = 75

Note that although they sound similar, specifications B and D above don't mean the same thing.

Proportions

We talk about increasing or changing a value by some factor because we can often simplify a problem by thinking in terms of proportions.

A symbol for proportionality

Physics textbooks often use a character that doesn't appear on a QWERTY keyboard to indicate "is proportional to." That character isprobably not in the vocabulary of typical screen readers and is probably not compatible with Braille displays.

I will use a "$" character for that purpose because:

  • It does appear on a QWERTY keyboard.
  • It isn't typically used in mathematical expressions unless American currency is involved.
  • It is not a JavaScript operator.

For example, I will write A $ B to indicate that A is proportional to B.

When we say that A is proportional to B, or

A $ B

we mean that if B increases by some factor, then A must increase by the same factor.

Circumference of a circle

Let's illustrate what we mean with a couple of examples. For the first example, we will consider the circumference of a circle. Hopefully, you know that thecircumference of a circle is given by the expression:

C = 2 * PI * r

where:

  • C is the circumference of the circle
  • PI is the mathematical constant 3.14159...
  • r is the radius of the circle

From this expression, we can conclude that

C $ r

If we modify the radius...

If we double the radius, the circumference will also double. If we reduce the radius by 25-percent, the circumference will also be reduced by 25-percent. Thisis illustrated by the script in Listing 2.

Listing 2 . Circumference is proportional to radius.
<!-- File JavaScript02.html --><html><body><script language="JavaScript1.3">var r = 10 var C = 2 * Math.PI * rdocument.write("r =" + r + ", C = " + C + "</br>") //Multiply r by 2. Then display r and Cr = r * 2 C = 2 * Math.PI * rdocument.write("r =" + r + ", C = " + C + "</br>")//Reduce r by 25%, Then display r and C r = r * (1 - 25/100)C = 2 * Math.PI * r document.write("r =" + r +", C = " + C + "</br>")</script></body></html>

Output from the script

When you open the script shown in Listing 2 in your browser, the text shown in Figure 2 should appear in your browser window.

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Source:  OpenStax, Accessible physics concepts for blind students. OpenStax CNX. Oct 02, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11294/1.36
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