Introduction /9

and objectives
Methodology /9
Results /9
Discussions /9
Conclusions /9
References /9
Continuous /6
learning &
information
management
Total /60
Percentage /85%

SF0021

PRACTICAL PHYSICS II

LAB REPORT

EXPERIMENT 1: MEASUREMENTS OF BASIC CONSTANT:LENGTH AND

WEIGHT

GROUP NO. : 1

NAME MATRIC NO

IRDINA BALQIS BT AMEROL HAMZAH FS22110421

LIDYANA HENDRY FS22110404

ANGEL ANN TADIUS FS22110399

MARDIANA BT MOHAMAD IDAL FS22110423

MICHAEL MURPHY CHANG MING REN FS22160735

MUHAMMAD ‘AFIF DANIAL BIN MOHD FS22110427

SHAHIR

DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 06/09/2022

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 13/09/2022

DEMONSTRATOR: MISS SITI SARAH JUNIAN

 MEASUREMENTS OF BASIC CONSTANT:LENGTH AND WEIGHT

Irdina Balqis binti Amerol Hamzah, Lidyana Hendry, Angel Ann Tadius, Mardiana binti
Mohamad Idal Michael Murphy Chang Ming Ren Muhammad ‘Afif Danial bin Mohd Shahir

Preparoty Center For Science and Technology,University Malaysia Sabah,Jalan

UMS,88400,Kota Kinablau,Sabah

Data Collected: 6 September 2022;Submitted : 13 September 2022

Tutorial ;7 Lab Demo : Siti Sarah Junain

Abstract

We used a variety of tools to make precise measurement. Choosing the suitable instrument
to measure a physical quantity is essential to ensure that the measurement is accurate and
consistent.The main purpose of this experiment was to measure the volume of 3 different
types of tubes,the thickness of plates and the radius and wire and the weight of different
coin . We determine by using 4 different tools to measured different types of materials.
Then, we used vernier caliper gauge to show the volume of different tubes used inner,depth
and outer measurement. The total value of the tubes can calculated with added main scale
and vernier scale from the data obtained. Besides that, micrometer screw gauge more or
less the same with vernier caliper but different function and units. Finals units for the
vernier caliper was centimeter while for micrometer screw gauge was
millimeter .Furthermore, Spherometer use to measure either very small and thickness of
flat materials like glass or the radius of curvature of spherical surface thus getting its name.
All of these measurements will change proportionally to the radius R of the sphere. It built
to be less sensitive to the wide range of environmental conditions that might affect
weighing, such as temperature and air turbulence, and therefore, provide a more convenient
method to ensure accurate results. An analytical balance, can only be used in strict
environmental conditions .We found that the radius and height affect the volume of vernier
caliper.Then,the micrometer screw gauge wil get the thickness by using milimeter . Other
than that the radius of curvature calculate by using the formula state in objective 3. Lastly,
we got difference weight with using difference coins by using manual precision balance. So,
each physical properties had its own formula to avoid error in measurement.

Keywords : Volume,thickness,radius,weight,temperature
Introductions

A measurement is a process of determining the ratio of a physical quantity which described

by a numerical value and a unit .Physical quantities can be classified into base quantities
and derived quantities .Length and mass are some examples of physical quantities followed
by the unit of measurement which are metre and kilogram .A system of measurement is a
set of units which can be used to specify anything that can be measured and were historical
important ,regulated and defined because of trade and internal commerce .In order to study
advance new ways of understanding measuring ,we carried out an experiment with
measuring the length and weight .These physical quantities are measured by using
measuring tools .Vernier caliper gauges, micrometre screw gauge and spherometer are used
for the accurate measurement of length, thicknesses, diameters and curvatures .Vernier
calliper and micrometre screw gauge are measuring tools that can measure length up to the
nearest 0.1 millimetre (More.H ,2020 ).Measuring procedures ,accurancy of measurement
and reading accurancy are demonstated .

Objectives

In this experiment, there were four objectives . For objectives 1, we determined volume of 3
different type of tubes by using the vernier calliper gauge. Then for objectives 2 determine
the thickness of wires,cubes and coins by using the micrometre screw gauge. For the
objective 3,we determine the thickness of plates and the radius of curvature of watch
glasses by using the spherometer. Lastly,in objectives 4 ,we determine the weight of
different coins by using the manual precision balance.
Theory

Each object has physical properties that can be measured. The four basic measurements
that will be experimented on are volume, thickness, radius of curvature and weight.

Objective 1

The unit for volume is given to be m^3, where the length multiplies the width and the time.
In this experiment, the volume of three different tubes were measured. To determine the
volume of tube, two volumes need to be obtained, one using the outer diameter, one using
the inner diameter.

Therefore, Vout-Vin=πr2h- πr2h

The theory behind the formula v= πr2h stems from the area of circle formula, πr2. This is
because a cylinder is a circle with height, therefore the use of the area of circle formula
multiplying the height adds another dimension to the measurement method, changing it
from a 2-dimension formula of A= πr2 to V= πr2h, producing the physical property of
volume.

Objective 2

The unit for the results used in Objective 2 is mm. 1mm is a unit for length which is often
written as 1x10^3m. The use of micrometer screw gauge allows for the measurement of
diameter across the wire/cube/plate. Length is one of the basic quantities used in applied
physics and theoretical physics. The use of micrometer screw gauge allows us to measure
the small diameter of the wire, cube and coins precisely. However, there is the possibility of
a small error to occur.

The possibility of this error is called uncertainty, and it is the smallest, measure on the scale
used. For micrometer screw gauge, the smallest reading is 0.1 mm, meaning there is a 0.1
mm uncertainty. To remedy this possible parallax error, the value of a measurement of x
mm is calculated to be (x±0.1)mm if the reading is in mm, or (x± 0.1)cm if the reading is
in cm.
Objective 3

The function of the spherometer is to calculate the curvature of a spherical surface. The
spherometer is placed on a flat surface to avoid initial curvature reading, then placed upon
the spherical surface.

To calculate the curvature, the radius of concave, R, must be obtained. The equation for
radius of concave is

2 2
a +ℎ
R=
2ℎ
The value of a is obtainable through the measurement of distance between two
spherometer legs divided by square root of three. The formula is,

d
a=
√3

Then, the value of a obtained is inserted into the equation. The value of h however is
obtained through the use of the spherometer, where the reading of the larger scale, x, is
then used to subtract the reading of the smaller scale, y, when y is written in the equation
as 0.0y.

Therefore, the formula is written as

h=(x-0.0y) mm

Objective 4

The objective in this experiment is to determine the weight of different coins using manual
precision balance. To transfer the coins onto the precision balance, tweezers must be used
to prevent avoid transfer of fat or dust to the weights.

The formula used to determine the weight of the coins is already applied within the
precision balance, which is w=mg, where

W=weight

m=mass (Newtons,N)

g= gravitational constant (10 m s− 1)

Therefore, by using the precision balance, the weight of the different coins on the earth are
able to be obtained accurately with minimal parallax error.

Method

Objective 1: vernier calipers

Figure 1 :Venier Calipers

Three tubes of different heights and diameters were labeled as tube 1, tube 2 and tube 3.
The upper jaws and lower jaws were used to measure the dimensions of inner and outer of
Tube. The jaws of the caliper were shut until the caliper displayed zero reading. The inner
dimension was then measured. The upper jaws were placed into the hole of tube 1, then
the internal jaws were released by rotating the thumb screw until the outer of each upper
jaws until the boundaries of the hole was connected.The outer dimension was then
measured. Tube 1 was gripped using the lower jaws. The lower jaws were fixed and
tightened at tube 1 through sufficient scrolling of thumb screw.The height of tube 1 was
then determined by having the stem (depth gauge) placed at the surface of tube 1. The
thumb screw was then used to increase the jaws until the stem touched the base or interior
base of tube 1. The main scale reading and vernier scale reading were then added together
to get the final value of diameter inside and diameter outside. The steps were then repeated
by replacing Tube 1 with Tube 2 and Tube 3.
Objective 2: Micrometer screw gauge

Figure 2 : Micrometer screw gauge

The micrometer screw gauge as shown in the diagram allows for the increase in the
accuracy of thickness of measurement for wires, cubes and coins. The jaws (anvil and
spindle) of the micrometer were closed and checked for zero error. The wires were placed
between the anvil and spindle. The thimble was rotated until the wire was firmly held
between the anvil and spindle. The rachet was rotated until a ‘click’ was heard.

The main scale reading and the vernier scale reading were added together to obtain the
final value of wire thickness. Steps 2 to 4 was repeated by replacing the wire with cube and
coins.
Objective 3: Spherometer

Curvatures of spherical surfaces and the thickness of plates was measured using a
spherometers. The spherometer was put on top of a flat plate so the reading is zero. The
convex lens was placed on the flat plate. The spherometer was put on the convex lens and
the three legs of spherometer was left to touch the surface of convex lens. The central legs
was adjusted until it touch the surface of convex lens same as the three legs of spherometer
like in Figure 1. The main scale reading and Vernier scale was added together to get the
height final value of the convex lens. The radius of convex, R, was determined by
substituting the value of height and a into equation below. The value of a was determined
by taking the distance between two legs divided by square root of three.

a2 +ℎ2
R=
2ℎ

Steps was repeated by replacing convex lens with concave lens for big plate. The steps was
repeated again for the concave and convex lens with small plate.

Figure 3 : Spherometer on convex lens

Objective 4: Precision Balance

Figure 4: Precision Balance

Figure 2 shows the precision balance that was used to determine the weight of two different
coins. Coin 1 was put onto one of the plates using tweezer. The precision weights was put
onto the other plates of the precision balance until both of the plates was balanced. The
total precision weights that was put into the other plates was calculated. The total precision
weights was known as weight of coin. The steps above was repeated by replacing Coin 1
with Coin 2.
Result:

For objective 1, a total of 4 sets of data of several aspect of 3 different type of tubes was
collected. The data was tabulated into Table 1.

Table 1: Data collected of the volume of 3 different type of tubes with the vernier caliper
gauge.

Tube Parameter Readin Readin Reading Average Volume,

g1 g2 3 (cm) (cm) Vout-Vin=πr2h- πr2h (
3
(cm) (cm) cm )

Height 33.40 33.40 33.40 33.40

Tube Diameter 1.11 1.75 1.74 1.53 57.60

1 Inside

Diameter 2.26 2.02 2.10 2.13

Outside

Height 16.50 16.50 16.50 16.50

Tube Diameter 1.72 1.92 1.93 1.86 17.32

2 Inside

Diameter 2.17 2.15 2.24 2.19

Outside

Height 17.60 17.60 17.60 17.60

Tube Diameter 1.70 1.68 1.72 1.70 11.01

3 Inside

Diameter 1.96 1.93 1.87 1.92

Outside

By using the vernier caliper gauge, the inner measurement, outer measurement, and depth
measurement was conducted to obtain the height, h, diameter inside, and diameter outside
of three different type of tubes in centimeter, cm. To prevent parallax error, the experiment
was repeated three times for each type of tubes. The average measurement was then
calculated by dividing the first three readings of every aspects of each type of tubes by 3.
Hence, by using the formula of volume = πr2h - πr2h, the volume of each type of tubes were
calculated.

For objective 2, a total of 4 sets of data of 3 different type of materials was collected. The
data was tabulated into Table 2.

Table 2: Data collected of the thickness of wires, cubes, and plate using micrometer screw
gauge.

Thickness Reading 1 (mm) Reading 2 (mm) Reading 3 (mm) Average (mm)

Wire 0.29 0.26 0.29 0.28

Cube 9.39 9.41 9.49 9.43

Plate 0.95 0.93 0.90 0.93

By using the micrometer screw gauge, the thickness of three different type of materials was
measured in milimeter, mm. The experiment was repeated for a total of three times to avoid
parallax error. The average reading was calculated by dividing the first three readings of
each type of measured materials by 3.
For objective 3, a total of 4 sets of data for each concave and convex lens of 2 different
types of plate was collected. The data was tabulated in Table 3.

Table 3: Data collected of the radius of curvature of plates using spherometer.

Plate Surface Paramete Reading Readin Reading Average Radius,

r 1 (mm) g2 3 (mm) (mm) a2 +ℎ2
R=
(mm) 2ℎ
(mm)
a 32.3 32.3 32.3 32.3 34.83
Concave h 22.6 21.6 21.1 21.8
Big Plate
a 32.3 32.3 32.3 32.3 32.43
Convex h 29.5 29.5 29.5 29.5
a 29.3 32.3 32.3 31.3 44.57
Concave h 79.3 70.3 79.3 76.3
Small Plate
a 32.3 32.3 32.3 32.3 32.40
Convex h 29.5 30.0 30.0 29.8

A concave and convex surface was used for both big and small plate. a was calculated by
dividing the measurement of the distance between two legs of the spherometer by square
d
root of three, a= . The height, h, in milimeter, mm was calculated by adding the main
√3
scale reading and vernier scale reading obtained after placing the spherometer on top of the
plate surface. To avoid parallax error, the experiment was repeated three times for each of
the given aspects. Hence, the average reading of every aspect was caculated by dividing the
additional of the first three readings by 3. Hence, by using the formula of radius of
2 2
a +ℎ
curvature, R = , the radius of curvature of each type of plates were calculated.
2ℎ
For objective 4, a total of 4 sets of data of 2 different type of coins was collected. The data
was tabulated in Table 4.

Table 4: Data collected of the weight of different coins using manual precision balance.

Plate Reading 1 (g) Reading 2 (g) Reading 3 (g) Average (g)

Coin 1 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58

Coin 2 5.59 5.59 5.59 5.59

A type of coin was placed onto one of the plates of the manual precision balance. On the
other plate, a number of precision weights in gram, g was placed until both of the plates
reached a balanced state. The total weight of the coin was obtained by adding the total
precision weights placed on the other plate. The experiment was repeated three times for
both coins to avoid parallax error. The average weight was calculated by dividing the
additional of the first three readings of both coins by 3.
Discussion

For objective 1, from the table 1, it is shown that we measured the volume of 3 different
types of tubes using vernier calliper gauge. Each type of tubes has its different
measurement for height, diameter inside and outside. This will lead to different volume for
each type of tube. For objective 2, based on the table 2, we used micrometer screw gauge
to measure the thickness of wires, cubes, and coins. It is shown that all three had different
thickness based on its purpose. Objective 3, the thickness of plates and the radius of
curvature of watch glasses was measured using spherometer. Radius of curvature for
concave and convex lens has different reading based on the Table 3. Weight of Coins 1 and
Coins 2 were measured using manual precision balance for Objective 4. The coins were put
onto the precision balance and the weight of the coins were balance using the precision
weights until it became balance again. The weight of the precision weight was calculated as
shown in Table 4.

There were some possible factors for the difference between the experimental value. A
random error of human nature in observing the measurement scale of the equipment may
cause the experimental value to differ each time the experiment was repeated. The force
that was applied when rotating the thimble may cause a random error as well. This is
because the strength applied in closing the jaws (anvil and spindle) of the micrometer screw
gauge will result in different value of the readings. Other than that, the slight movement of
the spherometer after it touches the surface of the plate may result in an error because
there might be a slight change in the value of the reading. The initial state of the manual
precision balance which is not in equilibrium may cause an inaccuracy when balancing the
precision weight and the coin. A number of precaution steps should be taken in order to
avoid the above errors of flaws. Firstly, when observing the scale of the vernier caliper and
the micrometer screw gauge, the level of the observer must be perpendicular to the scale of
the equipment to minimize parallax error. After that, spherometer must be placed on a flat
surface. This is because a flat surface gives a zero reading that which is ideal before
measuring the curvature of a convex and concave plates. Lastly, when putting the coins and
precision weights on the manual precisions balance, always use the tweezer to avoid
transfer of dust to the weights as it might affect the balancing of the plates. It is important
to conduct the experiment in a closed room so that the air does not interfere with the
stability of the manual precision balance.

QUESTION

1. What is the difference between a precise measurement and an accurate measurement?

The difference between a precise measurement and an accurate measurement is precise

measurement reflect how reproducible measurements are, even if they’re far from the
accepted value while accurate measurement reflects how close a measurement is to a
known or acceptable value (Helmenstine, 2020). Besides, presice measurement also may or
may not be accurate meanwhile accurate measurement must be precise and close to its true
value.

2. You read of a certain test intended to indicate a particular kind of cancer. The test gives
you a positive result for (80‡10)% of all persons tested who really have this kind of cancer
(true positives). But the test also gives you a positive result for (2 ‡ 1)% of all healthy
persons (false positives). Now you read a publication where the author performed this test
on 10, 000 workers that deal with a certain chemical. The author got 400 positive samples
from these workers and claims that this is strong evidence that this particular chemical
enhances the development of this kind of cancer since it is known from literature that only
(1 ‡ 0.5)% of the population are expected to have this kind of cancer. How reliable is the
claim of the author?

From the statement,

(1+-0.5)% = Population that are expected to have this kind of cancer.

400/10000 (100%) = 4%

Which means only 4% out of 10000 workers are cancer positive.

If compared,

4% is greater than (1+-0.5)% . This is not a strong evidence that the workers got this kind
of cancer because of a certain chemical since the percentage of workers who got cancer are
greater than literature. Thus, the author claim is unreliable.

3. Describe four improvements that could be made to this experiment. You may suggest
the use of other apparatus or different procedures.

1- The height of one of the tube measured with the vernier caliper is higher than the
vernier caliper itself. A shorter tube is needed to make reading works and easier.

2- Objects measured with micrometer screw gauge which is wire, coin and cube are quite
similar in diameter. Using a different objects with significant diameter difference can
produce readings with more range and avoid paralax errors.

3- Screw clamp on vernier caliper is found to be a bit rusty which will the cause the
reading inaccurate. Therefore, the vernier caliper should be maintained regularly one in
order to prevent from getting parallax error reading.

4- The usage of coins in precision balance experiment could be changed to an object with
much bigger weight value than coins so it will be much easier to balance with precision
weights.

Conclusion

Based on the experiments above, it is true that physical properties of an object can be
measured using specific measurement tools. It also shows that every object have its own
physical properties based in the result acquired during the experiment. The formula was
used in the experiments to achieve more accurate reading. Each physical properties had its
own formula to avoid error in measurement.
REFERENCES

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https://byjus.com/physics/spherometer/

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2020, November 2). What Is the Difference Between
Accuracy and Precision? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/difference-between-
accuracy-and-precision-609328

Kohn, R. (n.d). How to Avoid Analytical Balance Weighing Errors. Retrieved from
https://tovatech.com/blog/15006/digital-scales/how-to-avoid-analytical-balance-errors

Liu, T., Xu, Y., & Mao, B. Y. (2014). Research on Dynamic Balance Method of Precision
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More, H. (2020 March 3). Use of Micrometer Screw Gauge. Retrieved from
https://thefactfactor.com/facts/pure_science/physics/use-of-micrometer-screw-gauge/7535/

More, H. (2020 March 3). Use of Vernier Calipers . Retrieved from

https://thefactfactor.com/facts/pure_science/physics/vernier-calipers-measurement-of-
length/7524/

Pearce, K. (2014, September 4). Where Does The Volume of a Cylinder Formula Come
From? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Warner, D.J., “Spherometer”, Instruments of Science: An Historical Encyclopedia, 1998,

pp.569-570
APPENDIX