1.

0Basic Statistical Sampling

2.0Objectives

To permit the student to observe the value of statistical analysis in

such applications as sampling large quantities for variation and in
examining applications as sampling experiment data.

3.0Theoretical Discussion
Accuracy and Precision
Experimental error is the difference between a measurement and the
true value or between two measured values. Experimental error, itself, is
measured by its accuracy and precision.
Accuracy measures how close a measured value is to the true value or
accepted value. Since a true or accepted value for a physical quantity
may be unknown, it is sometimes not possible to determine the accuracy
of a measurement.
Precision measures how closely two or more measurements agree with
other.

Precision

is

sometimes

referred

to

as

repeatability

or

reproducibility. A measurement which is highly reproducible tends to give

values which are very close to each other. Figure 1 defines accuracy and
precision by analogy to the grouping of arrows in a target.

Significant Figures
The least significant digit in a measurement depends on the smallest unit
which can be measured using the measuring instrument. The precision
of a measurement can then be estimated by the number of significant
digits with which the measurement is reported. In general, any
measurement is reported to a precision equal to 1/10 of the smallest
graduation on the measuring instrument, and the precision of the
measurement is said to be 1/10 of the smallest graduation.
For example, a measurement of length using a meterstick with 1-mm
graduations
measurement

will
of

be

reported

volume

with

using

precision

graduated

of

0.1

cylinder

mm.

with

1-ml

graduations will be reported with a precision of 0.1 ml.

Digital instruments are treated differently. Unless the instrument
manufacturer indicates otherwise, the precision of measurement made
with digital instruments are reported with a precision of of the
smallest unit of the instrument. For example, a digital voltmeter reads

1.493 volts; the precision of the voltage measurement is of 0.001

volts or 0.0005 volt.
Mean and Standard Deviation
When a measurement is repeated several times, we see the measured
values are grouped around some central value. This grouping or
distribution can be described with two numbers: the mean, which
measures the central value, and the standard deviation which describes
the spread or deviation of the measured values about the mean. The
mean is simply the sum of the measured values divided by the number of
measured values.
The standard deviation is sometimes referred to as the mean square
deviation and measures how widely spread the measured values are on
either side of the mean.

4.0Materials and Equipment

1 high-input-impedance voltmeter
30 common composition resistors

5.0Experimental Procedures and Data

5.1Measure and record the value of each resistor.
Table E2.1
RESISTO
Values()
R
1
978
2
979
3
980
4
980
5
974
6
977
7
985

8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

977
986
980
976
974
978
973
976
977
979
979
975
976
981
978
987
968
979
980
970
976
973
974

5.2Select eight resistors at random from the total lot and measure
and record their values in the table.
Table E2.2 SAMPLE 1
RESISTOR

Values()

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

978
985
980
971
977
986
979
979

5.3Mix all the resistors together and select, at random, any 12

resistors, your selection may or may not include from the previous

sample. Measure and record the values of the 12 resistors in the

table.
Table E2.3 SAMPLE 2
RESISTOR

Values()

1
980
2
976
3
976
4
986
5
980
6
975
7
974
8
977
9
979
10
978
11
980
12
981
5.4Mix all the resistors together and select, at random, a sample of 16
resistors, your selection may or may not include from the previous
sample. Measure and record their values in the table.
Table E2.4 SAMPLE 3
RESISTO
Values()
R
1
978
2
985
3
975
4
973
5
979
6
982
7
988
8
978
9
980
10
979
11
978
12
977
13
975
14
974
15
978
16
970

5.5Plot the value of each resistor in the total lot and make a bar
graph, or histogram, in which each block represents a resistor
having that value of resistance.
Graph E2.1
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Number of Resistors

5.6Plot a histogram for each of the three samples of resistors.

Graph E2.2 SAMPLE 1
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Number of Resistors

Graph E2.3 SAMPLE 2

3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986
Number of Resistors

Graph E2.4 SAMPLE 3

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Number of Resistors

5.7Connect the maximum points of each histogram by a smooth

curve. If the numbers of resistors in the samples were much
larger, this would give an approximate normal distribution curve.
However your curves may be skewed because samples are small.
Graph E2.5 SAMPLE 1

SAMPLE 1
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Graph E2.6 SAMPLE 2

SAMPLE 2
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

Graph E2.7 SAMPLE 3

SAMPLE 3
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

5.8Compute and record in the table the average deviation D for the
entire lot and for each three samples.
Table E2.5
RESISTO
D ()
R
Sample 1
3.21875
Sample 2
2.5
Sample 3
3.078125
5.9Compute and record in the table the standard deviation S for the
entire lot and for each three samples.

Table E2.6
RESISTO
S ()
R
Sample 1
4.6885
Sample 2
3.26
Sample 3
4.4342
4
5.10 Record in the table which sample (1, 2, or 3) most nearly
describes the total lot with regard to average deviation and
standard deviation.
Table E2.7
BEST SAMPLE
Sample 2
SECOND BEST SAMPLE
Sample 3
WORST SAMPLE
Sample 1
6.0Observations, Conclusion and Recommendations

Observation
In procedure 1, what we did was measure all thirty 1k
ohms resistors and observe their values. We observed that their
values ranges from 970 ohms to 990 ohms.
In procedure 2, what we did was to get 8 random resistors
from the 30 resistors that we used in procedure 1 and observe the
differences of their values. We observed that the value ranges from
971 ohms to 986 ohms.
In procedure 3, what we did was to get 12 random resistors
from the 30 resistors that we used in procedure 1 and observe the
differences of their values. We observed that the value ranges from
975 ohms to 986 ohms.
In procedure 4, what we did was to get 16 random resistors
from the 30 resistors that we used in procedure 1 and observe the
differences of their values. We observed that the value ranges from
970 ohms to 988 ohms.
From their graphs, we observed that more resistors ranges
from 970 ohms to 980 ohms. Since the lesser deviation shows that

measurements are precise, we can say that the most precise

measurement of the resistors is in procedure 3 while procedure 2
shows the most deviation out of all

Conclusion
In this experiment we therefore conclude that the degree of
closeness of our data in each trials that we performed can
determine the precision of the measuring instrument that we used
by computing for its standard deviation and precision of the data
obtained in each trials by computing for its average deviation. And
based on our data, we therefore conclude that the more trials that
we had during measuring the same 30 resistors sample, the
greater the variation of the resistor values thus the higher
tendency for the data to disperse with each other. But based on
the values that we calculated by using the formulas provided for
Average Deviation and Standard Deviation, sample two with 12
measured resistors obtained to be the best sample because it has
a low degree on variations about its average value and low degree
to which measured data spread about its average value. However,
sample three with the highest number of measured resistors
obtained to be the worst sample because of its high value in
standard deviation and average deviation.

Recommendations

We recommend that before performing this experiment the

students must know how to use Digital VOM which we used for
measuring the value of each resistors. We would also like to
recommend that before performing this experiment that students
must have knowledge about the measures of central tendency or
variation, deviation, and standard deviation. And the relationship
of these three topics in error in measurements.

7.0References

G.A. Carlson (2002). Experimental Errors and Uncertainty.

Retrieved from URL:
http://www.ece.rochester.edu/courses/ECE111/error_uncertaint
y.pdf

L. R. Jones and A. F. Chins (1990). Electronic Instruments and

Measurements 2nd Edition. Prentice-Hall International Editions,
United States

8.0Members Participation

Theoretical Discussion: Patricia Cruz

Materials and Equipment: Jovit Mariano
Experimental Procedures & Data: Jonella Catacutan
Observations: James Bernardino and Ivan Manalang
Conclusion and Objective: Nicole Miday
Recommendations: Darryl Nojara