PI080S40

05

CENTRE OF FOUNDATION STUDIES

FOUNDATION PHYSICS I

Experiment Basic Physical Measurement & Uncertainty

Name
Student ID
Lab Instructor’s Name Dr. Siti Aisyah Zawawi
Date of Experiment 7 September 2021
Member 1 Nur Aleeya Maisarah Binti Zamhari ( 2021650722 )
Member 2 Nur Nabila Binti Abd Rahman ( 2021610556 )
Member 3 Nurul Syahirah Binti Zulkifly ( 2021453382 )
Member 4 Nurul Syakirah Binti Khairul Anuar ( 2021628338 )
Member 5 Yuhaniza Binti Abu Bakar ( 2021852396 )

Marks

Comment

LABORATORY REPORT

Abstract
The purpose of this experiment is to measure width, height, and length of rectangular object by
using DIY vernier calliper and to calculate the volume and uncertainty of a rectangular object.
First we measure the width, followed by height and then, the length by using the handmade
vernier calliper. The width, height and length is measure for five time. The average reading for
the width is 1.84 mm, the average reading of height is 1.17 mm and the average reading of length
is 1.84 mm. Measuring the rectangular block allowed us to find the volume of the rectangular
block which is 3.72 mm^3. From our result, we found out that the volume depended on the
width, height and length.

Introduction
A basic physical quantity is a quantity that can be measured such as length, mass, time, height
and volume. The measurements of physical quantities are expressed in terms of units, which are
standardized values depending on their apparatus. It is because not every apparatus have the
same precise unit. For instance, micrometer screw gauge have a 0.001mm as their smallest
division while vernier caliper smallest reading is 0.1mm.
This experiment is conducted to measure the length, width and height of a rectangular object
using vernier caliper . Another objective of this experiment is to calculate the volume and its
uncertainty of the rectangular object by taking a multiple reading and substitue it into the
formula given below.

Methodology
1. We used a cardboard to make our own vernier calliper. The vernier calliper template is
given by our lecturer.
2. Using the template, we paste it on the cardboard and then we cut it to make our own
vernier calliper.
3. Using the DIY vernier calliper, we measured the width, height and the length of a
rectangular object. We used a rectangular box for our experiment.
4. We repeat step 3 to obtain five sets of readings.
5. Then, we calculated the average reading by using the formula :

∑ of reading = Average reading

5

6. We calculate the deviation and standard deviation by using formula :

7. All the calculation are recorded in Table 1.

Data Sheet
 Average Standard
Measurement Reading, a Deviation, s
reading, a deviation, σ
 1.85 mm +0.01
1.83 mm -0.01
Length, l 1.82 mm 1.84mm -0.02 0.013
1.85 mm +0.01
1.84 mm 0
1.71 mm -0.02
1.74 mm +0.01
Width, w 1.71 mm 1.73mm -0.02 0.018
1.73 mm 0
1.75 mm +0.02
1.18 mm +0.01
1.17 mm 0
Height, h 1.16 mm 1.17mm -0.01 0.010
1.16 mm -0.01
1.16 mm -0.01
Table 1

(Standard deviation formula)

Calculation
 Discussion
We took the measurement of length, width and height five times with the Vernier calliper to get a
perfect reading. Then, we calculated all the reading using the average reading and record the data
in Table 1. So, the average reading is the final result of our measurement. From the final result,
we calculated the deviation and standard deviation.
The sources of error in this part of the experiment are due to the precision of the accuracy
measurement using our own (DIY) Vernier calliper which is not a perfect measuring device and
only can give a range of possible values referred to as uncertainly or error. We analysed that, the
deviation was ± 0.01 and ± 0.02. Effort was made to get the perfect reading, however because of
the accuracy of the Vernier calliper we need to make an average reading which is the most
suitable way to get the uncertainly. Thus, this systematic error due to parallax should be minimal.
Our result would have been improved if we had included more data points by taking more
measurement at different angle.
We observed the measurement and figure out the relationship between our measurement and the
final answers is relatable. The measurement of length, width and height affect the average
reading, deviation and standard deviation.
 Conclusion
In the conclusion, this experiment have been quite successful by proving the aim of this
experiment which is measuring the length, width and the height of the rectangular box by using
Do It Yourself (DIY) Vernier calliper. However, we can’t conclude that we get the perfect
reading because all measurement only can give a range of possible values referred to as
uncertainly or error. Thus, we took the measurement for five times and calculate average reading
because it is the most suitable way to get the uncertainly. Then we calculated the deviation and
standard deviation to get measured quantity. In conclusion, it is important when we use Vernier
calliper to calculate the uncertainly to overcome the error that occurred during this experiment.
 Post Lab Question
1. In this experiment, zero error is defined as the condition when a zero on main scale does
not coincide with a zero on a vernier scale. We can eliminate it by substract or adding the zero
errors depend on their types which is positive zero error or negative zero error. For positive zero
error, we should substract the zero error from the total reading while for negative zero error by
adding the value of the error to the total reading.
2. It is better to take multiple reading for the same measured quantity compared to single
reading because it have higher accuracy and lower uncertainty by having the range of possible
values of the reading by taking their average reading compared the single reading.
3. Uncertainty in measurement is important to determine the precision of a measurement
because the result of the reading may affected by random errors. So that , the uncertainty will get
us the ‘true value’ of the measurement.