ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Dimensional analysis

Dimensional analysis is a way of using math to make sure equations we use in science make sense. Even when we don't understand the equations in detail, we can use dimensional analysis to be very confident that our equations are correct.

When we do dimensional analysis, we use something called "units". Units are words that let us know what kind of measurement we are talking about. For example, if we measure how tall something is, we might use the unit of measurement "inches".

We can also use units when we are doing math. We can look at the units after we do the math and make sure that the units make sense. For example, if we are trying to figure out how much energy something has, we might use the units "joules". If we do the math and the answer comes out in "hours", then we know something is wrong with our equation!

Dimensional analysis is like a check we do to make sure that our math is correct, even when we don't understand the equation. It makes sure that our equations make sense, even when we do something really hard with them.