ACTIVITY GUIDE

Activity 1: Measurements
(modified from the Physics Experiments in Mechanics, Reina & Monahan 2004)

I. Introduction

To be a good scientist and explorer of nature, one must be able to make

measurements of all the physical quantities as precisely and accurately as
possible. While precision takes the closeness of a measurement against other
measurements, accuracy can be measured by some dtatistical formulas- the
standard deviation and standard error.

In the context of scientific method, error does not necessarily mean that an
experimenter has made a mistake in the activity, rather, it gives an overview
of how the limits of the measuring device(s) used and the ability to measure
(e.g the ability to see sharply) serves as constraints. The use of standard error
is another way of establishing the so- called “degree of accuracy” of the
measurement in the experiment.

In this activity, you will determine the distance between two parallel lines. It
may seem too simple. However, the objective is to learn how to measure as
accurately as possibl using the availablr devices. Moreover, this activity
serves as the beginning towards learning the correct usage of significant
figures.

II. Materials & Equipment

ruler meter stick tape measure 2
sheets of bondpaper tape pencil/pen

III. Procedure
1. Draw a straight line (using a ruler) with a thin- tipped pencil or pen on
each of the two paper.
 2. Tape the papers on the table about half- meter apart. Make sure that
the papers are fixed.
3. Now, you’ll measure the distance between the lines, but don’t align a
mark in the meter stick with the lines on the paper. Do it this way so that you
will estimate the last digit of each measurement.

a. Read the position of the line on the meter stick to the ten
thousandth of a meter, estimating the last digits between two lines. The
reading should have four digits to the right of the decimal (in meters) :
ex. 0.1234m. The last digit (4th to the right of a decimal) is the limit at
which a pair of good eyes can read in a particular measuring device
that has millimiter divisions as its smallest markings.

b. Record the reading on Table 1 for the line on the left as X L and
for the right at XR.

c. Make the measurements independently for each other to reduce

systematic errors.

d. Move the meter stick to a new position (that is use a different X L

and XR), once again making certain not to align the line of the paper
with a scale marking and then take new readings.

4. Repeat the measurement process in the same way until a total of five
measurements of the distance between the lines have been completed.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 using a tape measure, however, record your results in
Table 2.

IV. Questions for Discussion

1. Among the types of errors, which particular experimental error(s)

is/are evident in this activity? Give a specific instance at which the error
possibly existed. Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviation because using each of
the 2 mathematical deviations, I can calculate the distance measurement between the
2 sides.
 2. How can the type of error determined in question no.1 be reduced
and/or minimized? It explains how the estimation device(s) limits are used and
how they can be calculated

3. What determines the number of significant figures in reporting

measurement values? What would be the effect of reporting more or fewer
figures or digits than are significant? Significant figures are the numbers with a
value that is known to a certain degree. The calculation is more certain if the number
of relevant figures increases. The number of significant numbers increases as the
precision of the measurement is improved.

4. What is the statistical significance of one standard deviation? Two

standard deviations? A standard deviation or a sigma, above or under the average
distribution curve value, will describe an area containing 68% of the total data
points. Two sigma’s above or below would contain around 95 per cent of the results,
and three sigmas would include 99.7 per cent.

5. In context, which of the two- meter stick and tape measure, is more
appropriate to use? Why? Tape measure because it is adjustable and therefore
gives us a more precise answer than the meter stick.

Synopsis of Formulae for Statistical Error

1) Arithmetic Mean (𝑿̅) of a

series of measurements Xi is defined by :

2) Standard Deviation of
the quantities x are obtained by the following equation:

Then, the standard deviation of the mean or “standard error”, 𝜎𝑥̅ is