470 Appendix

Appendix 3: Mathematics help

Some of the mathematics in this Help section have
been treated in the text alongside relevant topics in the
main section of this book. Such areas of mathematics
are merely listed and referenced here. Others areas are
treated in more detail in the text below.
1: Statistics
Normal distribution
A normal distribution of a very large set of measurements
occurs if there is random error in each measurement.
When a ‘histogram’ of the value, x, of each measurement
is plotted against the frequency, f, of each measurement, a
bell-shaped ‘normal’ curve is obtained.
–3 S.D. –2 S.D. +3 S.D.
2.1% 2.1%
13.6%
13.6%
34.1% 34.1%
–1 S.D. 0 +1 S.D. +2 S.D.
Mean
Median
Figure A-1
Means
For a set of measurements N = x1, x2, x3, …, xN, where each
measurement occurs with a frequency ni:
■ the mean, <x> (arithmetic average), of the set is given by
<x> =
1
NΣni xi for i = 1 to N
■ the mean square value, <x2>, is given by
<x2> =
1
NΣni (xi)2 for i = 1 to N
■ the root mean square (rms) value, xrms, is given by
xrms = √< x2>
For a sinusoidal relationship, e.g. V = V0 sin ωt,
Vrms =
1
V0 =
√2
V√2 2 0
Standard deviation
The degree to which measurements are scattered about a
mean value is called the dispersion of the measurements.
One measure of dispersion is the standard deviation, s,
which is defined by the equation
s=
Σ [ni (<x> − xi)2]
N
A small s implies that most of the data is grouped closely
to the mean, so the ‘hump’ of the bell curve is relatively
high. A large s implies the opposite. In an experiment
involving large amounts of data, mean values of x are
stated as <x> } s.
■ Chapter 14 (pages 219 and 220) gives an example of
the use of rms speeds of molecules in the derivation of
the equation pV = 13
Nm<c2>
■ Pages 337 and 338 give an example of a sinusoidal
varying current (I = I0 sin ωt) whose rms value is given
by
Irms = I0
√2
■ For an example involving the determination of mean
and standard deviation, see Chapter 1, ‘Practical
exercises and challenges’ 3.
■ For a ‘normal’ distribution, typically about 68% of the
measurements lie within 1 standard deviation (S.D.) of
the mean (see Figure A-1).
2: Measurement
Area and volume formulae
area of a circle of radius r: A = πr2
surface area of a sphere of radius r: A = 4πr2
volume of a sphere of radius r: V = 43
πr3
Percentage errors / uncertainties in measurements
This topic is treated in Chapter 1, pages 6 and 7.
■ Detailed examples involving percentage errors and
uncertainties can be found in Chapter 12, pages 190
and 191 and 195 and 196 (specific heat capacity and
specific latent heat).