University of Tripoli

Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department

EE 304
Measurements and Instrumentation

Lecture 2 (Measurement Errors)

‫ أريج ناصر‬.‫أ‬
Example:
Q1) a) A resistor R1 has a potential difference of 25 V across its terminal, and a current of 63 mA. The voltage is
measured on a 30 V analog instrument with an accuracy of ±5% of full scale. The current is measured on a digital
instrument with ±1 mA accuracy. Calculate the resistance of R1 and specify its tolerance?

Solution:
Error in voltage for full scale = ±5% of 30 V = ±1.5 V
Error in I = ± 1 mA
±1.5
Error in measured voltage = 25
× 100 % = 6%

I =63 mA ± 1 mA = 63 mA ± 1.58%
V 25
R= = = 0.396 KΩ = 396.8 Ω
I 63 mA
% error in R = ± (% error in V) + (% error in I) = ± ( 6 % + 1.58 %) = 7.58%
R = 396.8 ± 7.58 % = 396.8 ± 7.6 %
b) Determine the maximum and minimum power dissipation in the resistor in a) ?

Solution:
I = 63 mA ± 1.58%
R = 396.8 Ω ± 7.6 %
P = I 2 R = 1.574 W
% error in p = 2 (% error in I) + (% error in R)
= 2 (1.58 %)+ (7.6 %) = 3.16% + 7.6 % = 10.76%
P = 1.574 ± 10.76% W
P = 1.574 ± 0.169 W
Maximum power = 1.743 W
Minimum Power = 1.405 W
Q2) A 470 Ω, ± 10 % resistor has a potential difference of 12 V across its terminal. If the voltage is measured
with an accuracy of ±6%. Determine the power dissipation in the resistor and specify the accuracy of the result.

Solution:

V2 (12)2 144
P= = = = 0.306 W
𝑅 470 470

% error in R = ± 10 %
% error in V = ±6%
% error in V 2 = 2 (±6%) = ±12%
% error in P = (% error in V 2 ) + (% error in R )
= ± (12% + 10%) = ± 22 %
P = 0.306 W ± 22 %
Basics of Statistical Analysis
Arithmetic Mean Value

When a number of measurements of a quantity are made and the measurements are not
exactly equal, the best approximation to the actual values found by calculating the average
value or arithmetic mean of the results. For n measured values 𝒙𝟏 , 𝒙𝟐 , 𝒙𝟑 … . 𝒙𝒎 the arithmetic
mean is

Determining the Arithmetic mean of several measurements is a method of minimizing the

effects of random errors.
Deviation
The difference between any one measured value and the arithmetic mean of a series of
measurements is termed the deviation. The deviations (𝑑1 , 𝑑2 , 𝑑3 … . 𝑑𝑛 ) may be positive or
negative, and the algebraic sum of the deviations is always zero.
Average Deviation

Average deviation is the sum of the absolute values of the deviations divided by the number
of readings. It can be expressed as

𝒅𝟏 + 𝒅𝟐 + 𝒅𝟑 + ⋯ 𝒅𝒏
𝑫=
𝒏
Example
A set of independent current measurements was taken by six observers and were recorded as
12.8 mA, 12.2 mA, 12.5 mA, 13.1 mA, 12.9 mA, and 12.4 mA. Calculate
a) Arithmetic mean
b) The deviations from the mean
c) The algebraic sum of the deviation
d) average deviation
Solution
(12.8+12.2+12.5+13.1+12.9+12.4)𝑚𝐴
a) 𝑥 = = 12.65𝑚𝐴
6
b) The deviations are: 𝑑1 = 12.8 − 12.65 = 0.15𝑚𝐴
𝑑2 = 12.2 − 12.65 = −0.45𝑚𝐴
𝑑3 = 12.5 − 12.65 = −0.15𝑚𝐴
𝑑4 = 13.1 − 12.65 = 0.45𝑚𝐴
 𝑑5 = 12.9 − 12.65 = 0.25 𝑚𝐴
𝑑6 = 12.4 − 12.65 = −0.25 𝑚𝐴

𝑑𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 0.15 − 0.45 − 0.15 + 0.45 + 0.25 − 0.25 = 0

0.15 + 0.45 + 0.15 + 0.45 + 0.25 + 0.25

𝐷= = 0.283 𝑚𝐴
6
Standard Deviation and Probable Error

The mean squared value of the deviation can also be calculated by first
squaring each deviation value before determining the average. This gives
a quantity known as the variance. Taking the square root of the variance
produces the root mean squared (rms) value, also termed the standard
deviation (𝝈).

𝒅𝟐𝟏 + 𝒅𝟐𝟐 + 𝒅𝟐𝟑 + ⋯ 𝒅𝟐𝒏

𝝈=
𝒏

In practice, of course, the possible number of observations is finite. For

small numbers of readings (n<30) the standard deviation is given by

𝑑12 + 𝑑22 + 𝑑32 + ⋯ 𝑑𝑛2

𝝈=
𝑛−1
 For the case of a large number of measurements in which only random errors are
present, it can be shown that the probable error in any one measurement is
0.6745 times the standard deviation:
Probable error = ±0.6745 𝜎

Example
Ten measurements of the resistance of a resistor gave 101.2 Ω, 101.7 Ω, 101.3 Ω,
101.0 Ω, 101.5 Ω, 101.3 Ω, 101.2 Ω, 101.4 Ω, 101.3 Ω and 101.1 Ω. Assume that
only random errors are present. Calculate
a) The arithmetic mean
b) The standard deviation of the readings.
c) The probable error
Solution:
Limiting Errors:
The manufacturers specify the accuracy of the instruments with a certain percentage of
full scale reading. The components like the resistor, inductor, and capacitor are
guaranteed to be within a certain percentage of rated value. This percentage indicates
the deviations from the nominal or specified value of the particular quantity. This
deviations from the specified value are called Limiting Errors. These are also called
Guarantee Errors.

Example:
A 300 V voltmeter is specified to be accurate with ± 2% at full scale. Calculate the
limiting error when the instrument is used to measure a 120 V source.
 Solution:
The magnitude of the limiting error is
0.02 × 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝑽 = 𝟔𝑽
So the limiting error at 120V is
𝟔𝑽
× 𝟏𝟎𝟎% = 𝟓%
𝟏𝟐𝟎𝑽

Example
A voltmeter and an ammeter are to be used to determine the power dissipated in a
resistor. Both instruments are guaranteed to be accurate with ±1% at full scale
deflection. If the voltmeter reads 80 V on its 150 V range and the ammeter reads
70 mA on its 100 mA range, determine the limiting error for the power calculation.
Solution:
The magnitude of the limiting error for the voltmeter is
0.01 × 150 𝑉 = 1.5𝑉
So the limiting error at 80V is
1.5𝑉
× 100% = 1.86%
80𝑉

The magnitude of the limiting error for the ammeter is

0.01 × 100 𝑚𝐴 = 1𝑚𝐴
So the limiting error at 70mA is
1𝑚𝐴
× 100% = 1.43%
70𝑚𝐴

The limiting error for the power calculation is the sum of the individual limiting errors
involved therefore
Limiting error = 1.86%+1.43%= 3.29%