Ha | J Core - Physics and physical measurerr Graphical analysis and uncertainties This chapter introduces the basic methods of dealing with logarithmic and exponential functions in physics. It also introduces the basic methods for calculating the uncertainty in a quantity, which is a function of other measured quantities. The uncertainty in measured quantities will produce an uncertainty in a number obtained using the measured quantities. Objectives By the end of this chapter you should be able to: + deal with logarithmic functions, semilogarithmic and logarithmic plots; * find the error in a calculated quantity in terms of the errors of the dependent quantities; * find the error in the slope and intercept of a straightline graph. Logarithmic functions Semi-logarithmic plots 2 es : : 3 The exponential function y = e* plays a significant role in many areas of physics. The a activity (number of decays per unit time) as a a function of time for a radioactive element 4 behaves as A = Age, where 2. is known as 3 the decay constant, The current through a 6 7 3 diode varies with applied voltage as m “T= be“, where T is the temperature in a kelvin and k is a constant. When the 5 Tila exponential is negative, we speak of a decay problem, whereas positive exponentials ae a roneeencercwtnrablens Table 5.1 Experimental data. Let us concentrate on the radioactive decay The graph of activity versus time is an problem. Consider the data in Table 5.1, which exponential decay curve as expected. This is was collected in an experiment shown in Figure 5.132 Core - Physies and physical measurement activity/Bq | 1204 oh 0 60 40 20 o 3 10 15 agen Figure 5.1 The exponential decay curve. The halflife can be determined from this graph | by finding the time at which the activity is | 60 decays per minute (i.e. half its original value). From the graph, this is found to be about 2.8 minutes. It is more convenient, however, to plot a different graph so that a straight line is obtained. > Since A = Ape, it follows by taking natural logarithms that InA=InAg~ at and thus a graph of In A versus time is a | straight line with slope equal to the | negative decay constant, and the vertical intercept is the logarithm of the initial activity. This is called a semi-logarithmic plot as it involves the logarithm of only one of the variables. Such a graph can be made by using a calculator | to compute the natural logarithm of each | activity value and plotting the logarithm | against time, as in Figure 5.2. Finding the slope of this straight line as usual, we obtain: slope = -4 = —0.25 min”! | Thus, the decay constant is 0.25 min™'. Using the known relationship between the decay So> min 0 3 10 15 Figure 5.2 The exponential decay curve becomes linear if we plot the logarithm of activity versus time constant and the half-life Min =|n2 it follows that the halflife is In2 a 0.693, r, 0.25 = 2.8 min The vertical intercept is about 4.8 and equals In Ap. Hence, the initial activity is found to be 4.8 = In Ay Ag =el® ~ 120Bq Logarithmic plots Consider now a variable that depends on another through a power. Ify = kx", then Iny = Ink + nInx, which means that a graph of Iny versus Inx gives a straight line with slope n and vertical intercept equal to Ink. Thus, consider the following data for the maximum current / that can flow in a wire of diameter D (see Table 5.2 and Figure 5.3). This is a curve of unknown equation. Suspecting a power relationship between the1.5 Graphical analysis and uncertainties 33, 22 35 46 557 647 731 886 959 10 10.29 elelrfalalalole ‘Table 5.2 The maximum current that can flow in a particular wire. diameterémm * o 2 4 6 8 10" Figure 53 A plot of diameter versus current gives a curve of unknown equation, diameter D and the current I, we take natural logarithms of both variables and plot In D versus In I (Figure 5.4). (Note that the zero on the vertical axis has been suppressed. We find the slope in the usual way: 2-1 18-05 ‘Thus, D = kP*?. The constant k can also be determined by finding the intercept of the line with the vertical axis. The intercept is 0.8 and so Ink = 0.80 = k =e?" ~ 2.2, Finally, D = 2.217, where the current is in amps and the diameter in mm. slop 0.67 | 115 Figure 5.4 A plot of In D versus In I gives a straight line. Propagation of errors ‘Suppose that in an experiment quantities a,b, ¢, etc. are measured, each with an error Aa, Ab, Ac, ete, That isa = do + Aa, b = by + Ab,c = cy + Ac, etc., where the subscript zero indicates the mean value of the quantity. Thus, if'a mass is measured to be 4.5 kg £0.1 kg, mo =4.5 kg, and Am = 0.1 kg. > if = ay + Aa, the quantity Aq is called the absolute uncertainty or error in the measure- ment of the quantity q and the ratio $+ is the {fractional or relative uncertainty or error. The quantity 3 x 100% gives the percentage error in the quantity a. Thus, in the measurement of mass, the absolute error is 0.1 kg and the fractional or relative error is 0.1/4.5 = 0.02 or 2%. If we wish to calculate a quantity Q in terms of a,b,¢, ete., an error in Q will arise as a result of the individual errors in a, b and c. That is, the errors ina, and ¢ propagate to Q. How do we find the error in Q given the errors in a,b,c, etc? ‘There are two cases to consider and we will give the results without proof. Addition and subtraction ‘The first case involves the operations of addition andjor subtraction. For example, we34 Core - Physics and physical measurement might have Q =a +b orQ=a-bor Q=a+b —c. Then, in all cases the absolute uncertainty in Q is the sum of the absolute uncertainties in a, b and c. Q=atb Q=a-b Q=a+b—-c => AQ=Aa+Ab = AQ=4a+db => AQ=Aa+Ad+AC Example question 0) RUE The side a of a square is measured to be 12.4. cm + 0.1 cm. Find the error in a calculation of the perimeter $ of the square. Answer Here we have addition and so the error in S is AS=Aat+ Aa+Aat+ Aa aa = 0.4m Thus $= 49.6 cm +0.4 cm Considerable errors result if the small difference of two large numbers is taken. If Q=a—b,and a = 538.7 +04 and b =537.3-40.4, then Q = 1.40.8. The fractional error in this case is 0.57 or 57%. The error in the quantities a and b is small compared with the mean values of a and b but huge compared with the difference. Multiplication, division, powers and roots Suppose now that the quantity to be calculated involves a multiplication such as in Q = ab, a division as in Q = ¢ or Q = %, or a power Q =a", ora root Q = Ya. In all these cases the fractional uncertainty in Q is the sum of the fractional uncertainties of a,b and c. AQ _ Aa Ab =— + Q=ab > Ot be aut AQ _ Aa | ab b Qo a by = AQ_ Aa ab Qo ~ ao | by = S0_ 154 Qo "a ‘i AQ laa Q= Ve > Ona Example questions Q) EE ‘The sides of a reciangle are measured to be a=2.5 cm + 0.1 cm and b= 5.0 cm + 0.1 cm. Find the area A of the reciangle. Answer ‘The fractional uncertainty in a is Aa_ 0d a 25 = 0.04 oF 4% That in bis Ab_ 0.1 b 5.0 = 0.02 or 2% Thus, the fractional uncertainty in the area is. 0.06 or 6% aA = = 0.06 Ay = AA = 0.06 x 12.5 .75.em* Hence A= 12.5 cm? +0.8 cm? Q3 sce TST A mass is measured to be m= 4.4 + 0.2 kg and its speed 18 + 2m s"'. Find the kinetic energy of the mass. Answer yMnv? (i.e, Ey = 713 J) The kinetic energy is E, and from AE Am, jay Ex ™m Vo1.5 Graphical analysis and uncertainties 35 —— — it follows that AE, = 191 J; that is E, = 713 £191J or just E, = 700 + 200 J. Qa The length of a simple pendulum is increased by 4%, What is the fractional increase in the pendulum's period? Answer The period is related to the length through Ps ant. Thus $1 = }4* and since 4+ = 4% x 4% = 2%. we have 4" Q A body radiates according to the black-body law P = cT*, where Tis the temperature and cis a constant. If the temperature of the body is increased by 3%, how does the radiated power change? Answer AP AT =4x 3% = 12%. Other functions Suppose, finally, that the calculated quantity Q depends on a variable a through a sine, Q =sina. Ifa is measured to be 58° + 2° what is the error in Q? Using calculus (and being very careful to change from degrees to radians before we differentiate) we can show that, approximately, AQ =cosa Aa oy 9 ye = cos 58° x 2’ x 180° = 0.0185 ® 0.02 It is easier in practice, however, to find the largest and smallest values of Q through OQmax = sin(S8° + 2°) 8660 Onin = sin(S8° — 2°) = 0.8290 so we can deduce that the error is half of the difference AQ = }(0.8660 — 0.8290) = 0.0175 = 0.02 The mean value of Q is Qmean = sin 58° = 0.8480 0.85 and so Q=0,85 + 0.02 This method can be applied to any other functional form relating Q toa. Uncertainties in the slope and intercept Having decided the line of best fit for a given set of data that are expected to fall on a straight line, it is usually necessary to calculate the slope and intercept of that straight line However, since the data points are the result of measurements in an experiment, they are subject to experimental uncertainties. Thus, let us return to the example of Chapter 1.2. In an experiment to verify Hooke's law, data for the tension and extension of a spring are collected and plotted as shown in Figure 5.5. The experimenter has included vertical uncertainty bars representing an uncertainty of +10 N in the values of the tension in Figure 5.5 (the length of the vertical bar is thus 20 N). 120) 100 80 Heit ope HE (020s da dst 06 Figure 5.5 Data points plotted together with uncertainties in the values for the tension. 60F 40 El | : | | | The experimenter then draws the line of best fit through the data points and obtains a straight line, as shown in Figure 5.6. The slope of this line is 200 N m~’ and this represents the spring constant. What is the uncertainty in the slope and intercept?36 Core - Physics and physical measurement 120 100 80 40 E 20 L 03. [--014105...[ 046 Figure 5.6 The line of best fit through the data points. A simple way to estimate these uncertainties is by drawing two extreme straight lines as in Figure 5.7 and finding the slope of each. Both straight lines are made to pass through a point that is halfway in the range of the x values: in this case the point with x = 0.5 m. The first line is then drawn so as to have the largest slope and still fir the data (this means it will pass at the extremes of the vertical error bars). The second line is made to have the least slope and still fit the data, The two slopes are then measured. Figure 5.7 The uncertainty in the slope estimated by drawing two extreme additional graphs through the centre point. Measurement of the two slopes gives 235 Nm and 177 Nm‘: thatis, errors of +55 N m7! and 23 N m-', Taking the average of these two errors gives 29 N m~, so we may state that the spring constant is 200 + 30 N m~'. The same procedure allows an estimate of the vertical intercept. The line of best fit gives an intercept of zero. The line with the largest slope has an intercept of —11 N and the line of least slope has an intercept of +5 N. The average of the absolute values of these errors is (11 +5)/2 =8 and so the intercept is calculated to be 08 N. 1 Acitcle and a square have the same perimeter. Which shape has the largest area? 2 A sphere and a cube have the same surface area. Which shape has the largest volume? 3 What is the approximate value of 1 — cos x when x is small? 4 The natural logarithm of the voltage across a capacitor of capacitance C = 5 iF asa function of time is shown in Figure 5.8. The voltage is given by the equation V = Yve-"/** Where R is the resistance of the circuit. Find (a) the initial voltage: (6) the time for the voltage to be reduced to hali its initial value; (c) the resistance of the circuit ° 10 Is 20 Figure 58 For question 4. Figure 5.9 shows how the velocity of a steel ball depends on time as it falls through a viscous medium. Find the equation that gives the velocity as a function of time. Table 5.3 shows the mass M of several stars and their corresponding luminosity L (power emitted). By plotting the luminosity versus the ynasenn Ineetibeniccanen ind the1.8 Graphical analysis and uncertainties 37 vims o2 + os 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 Figure 5.9 For question 5. relationship between these quantities, 1 3 42 238, 2 4700 20 26500 Table 5.3 For question 6. 7 Table 5.4 shows the data collected in an experiment. ‘Assuming the suspected relationship between the variables is y = cx’, plot the data in order to get a straight line and then find the value of the constant ¢, RoeeiOle 207980 4D te SOFIE CO) 13 Y 640 118 1764 Table 5.4 For question 7, 8 The variable y depends on x through y= ke". How should these two variables be plotted in order to get a straight-line graph? 9 Two forces are measured to be 120 + 5 N and 60 + 3 N. Find the sum and difference of the two forces, giving the uncertainty in each case. 10 The quantity Q depends on the measured values a and b in the following ways: (a) Q=a/b,a=20%1,b=1041; (b) Q= 20436, a= 2042, b= 1543; (© Q=a-2b,a=50+1, b= 2440.5; (d) Q=a',a=10.0+0.3; @Q In each case find the value of Qand its uncertainty. 11 The centripetal force is given by F = ™. If the mass is measured to be 2.8 + 0.1 kg, the velocity 14 2m s~! and the radius 8.0 + 0.2 m, find the force on the mass, including the uncertainty. a*/b, a= 100 £5, b= 2042. 12 The mass of a rectangular block is measured to be 2.2 kg with an uncertainty of 0.2 kg. The sides are measured as 60 + 3 mm, 50+ 1mm and 40 + 2 mm, Find the density of the cube in kilograms per cubic metre, giving the uncertainty in the result. 13 The radius r of a circle is measured to be 2.4m + 0.1. cm. (a) What is the error in the area of the circle? (b) What is the error in the circumference? 14 The radius r of a sphere is measured to be 22.7 cm + 0.2 cm. (a) What is the error in the surface area of the sphere? (b) What is the error in the volume? 15 The sides of a rectangle are measured as 4.4 £ 0.2 cm and 8.5 + 0.3 cm. Find the area and perimeter of the rectangle. 16 The period of a simple pendulum depends on length through T = 27,/£. Ifthe length is increased by a factor of 2, by what factor does the period change? 17 In the previous question, if the length of the pendulum is increased by 2%, what is the fractional increase in the period? 18 If the length of a pendulum is measured with a fractional uncertainty of 0.5% and the period with a fractional uncertainty of 0.6%, what is the fractional uncertainty in the measured value of the acceleration due to gravity?