1.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

            At the end of the lesson, you should be able to

1.     Differentiate accuracy from precision (STEM_GP12 EU-19-2).

2.     Differentiate random errors from systematic errors (STEM_GP12 EU-19-3).

3.     Use the least count concept to estimate errors associated with single measurements
(STEM_GP12 EU-19-4).

4.     Estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical quantity using variance

(STEM_GP12 EU-19-5).

5.     Estimate the uncertainty of a derived quantity from the estimated values and
uncertainties of directly measured quantities (STEM_GP12 EU-19-6)

MOTIVATION

            There is no such thing as a perfect measurement. Every measurement, whether

made by a student or a professional scientist contains a certain degree of uncertainty due to
unavoidable errors.

            Before new data are fully accepted, other scientists examine the experiment, look
for possible sources of error, and try to reproduce the results. Results often are reported
with an uncertainty. A new measurement that is within the margin of uncertainty is in
agreement with the old measurement.

            Uncertainty in measurements can result from limitations in accuracy and precision.
Accuracy of measurement describes how well the results of a measurement agree with the
“real” value, which is accepted value, as measured by competent experimenters. Precision
refers to the degree of exactness of measurement.

            One way to visualize the difference between accuracy and precision is with some
darts and dartboards as shown in the figure below. The center of the bull’s eye represents
the accepted value. The closer a dart is to a bull’s eye, the more accurate the throwing of
the dart. The closer the darts are to each other, the more precise the throws.
2. ERROR

 RANDOM ERRORS result from unpredictable or inevitable changes during data

measurement. Random errors affect the precision of the measurements. These errors may
be reduced by increasing the number of trials of a measurement and averaging out the
results.
                   SYSTEMATIC ERRORS usually come from the measuring instrument or in the
design of the experiment itself. These errors limit the accuracy of one’s results. 

                   PERCENT ERROR is a measure of accuracy

                        PERCENT ERROR = |X-Xt| / Xt x 100% 

         

                  where Xt   is the true or accepted value and X is the measured value

                   PERCENT DIFFERENCE is a measure of precision

                        PERCENT DIFFERENCE = 

·       SAMPLE PROBLEMS:

1.     A group of students performed an experiment to determine the density of water. They
got a value of 0.98 g/mL in their first trial. The true value of the density of water is 1.0 g/mL.
Find the percent error.

2.     Two trials were performed in an experiment to determine the latent heat of vaporization
(Lv ) of water at 100  ˚C. The values of Lv    of water obtained were 532 cal/g and 536 cal/g.
Find the percent difference between the two values.
3. ERRORS FROM MULTIPLE MEASUREMENT

       Another way to estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical quantity is

to determine the VARIANCE of the set of measurements. See the step by step of
computing the variance on page 12.

The VARIANCE measures the squared deviation of each number is the set from the MEAN

   NOTE: A variance of zero means that all measurements are identical. A small variance
indicates that the variance is close to one another, which means they are precise.

            STANDARD DEVIATION is the square root of the variance. It is a measure of how

diverse or spread out are a set of measurements from their average.

NOTE: A small standard deviation means that most of the measurements are close to their
average. A large standard deviation means that the measurements are very diverse.

             The measurement X of a physical quantity is usually reported as X = X ± σ

·       Study carefully the Sample Problem 1.4 on page 13.

Determine the a.) mean b.) variance c.) standard deviation and d.) measured period of the
During an experiment in a physics laboratory, a group of 5 students was asked to measure
the period of a simple pendulum. Their measurements were as follows: 2.3s, 2.4s, 2.2s, and
2.1s. Determine the a.) mean b.) variance c.) standard deviation and d.) measured period of
the pendulum.