ABSTRACT
Most would agree that to be successful in science at any non-trivial level some understanding of basic numeracy is required. This is not to suggest that, for example, to study A-level physics a pupil must also study A-level mathematics (Ireson 1996) but rather that the ability to understand the required mathematics is needed. In science education the debate over the use of mathematics is not new; indeed it can be traced back to, at least, 1616 when Kepler made use of logarithms to speed up his calculations on planetary motion. His academic mentor, Michael Maestlin, chided him: ‘It is not seemly for a professor of mathematics to be childishly pleased about any shortening of the calculations’ (www.mathpages.com/rr/s8-01, accessed 14.01.06).
