LAB 2

THE DISTRIBUTION OF ERRORS IN

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

Name : Jammar Allan

ID#: 2103596

Course Code: PHS1005

Activity : Physics Practical

Group: Wednesday 8am - 11am

Lecturer: Chadwick Costley

Experiment : The Distribution of Errors in Physical Measurements

Date : September 8, 2021.

Aim : To examine the distribution of measurements of the eye level

Theory : An Error is the difference between the actual value and the calculated
value of any physical quantity. Meaning that no measured value is perfect
or is the ‘true value’ of a physical quantity. This leaves room for any
measurement/ calculation of a physical quantity to be “off” by a certain
amount. Due to this imperfection, calculations and measurements are
quoted with a level/ measurement of uncertainty for precision and
reliability (based on how much the estimated error is). Three types of
errors include mistakes, systematic errors and random errors. In this
experiment we use a model to study how measurements of a quantity are
distributed. The quantity to be measured is the distance from the floor to
the eye level of the student.

Apparatus : Plain sheet of paper, broad piece of board, 10 darts, measuring tape

Diagram of Experimental Set up

Procedure

1. The distance of eye level above the ground was measured.

2. A plain sheet of paper was divided into two with a line.

3. A reference line was drawn 1 cm from the bottom of the plain sheet of paper.

4. Plain sheet of paper was attached to the board in such a way that eye level corresponded with
the central line which divided the paper.

5. The distance of the reference point was measured, and suitable marks were made on the board
so that another paper could have been affixed in the same position.

6. Experimenter stood at a specific distance from the board and threw darts at the eye level on
the paper. According to your throwing ability several trial throws may be necessary before the
most suitable throwing distance is found.

7. A total of 100 throws were made on the paper. More than one sheet of paper may be used as
long as the same reference level is used. Be careful! Otherwise, your graph will be poor.

8. The vertical range of the points on the paper(s) was divided into 10 equal sections of suitable
width, say for example 2 cm. (See Fig. 1).

9. The number of points in each section was counted and the results tabulated. A few points may
be below section 1 or above section 10 but they would NOT be discarded. Label these sections 0,
11, etc. (Note: Use a bit enough sheet of paper so that your throws land on the paper).

10. Draw a histogram illustrating the number of times, n1, that points occur in a certain section,
x1 (Fig. 2).

11. Calculate the mean value of the measurements, , using the formula:

n1 x1 where N = total number of points

and x1 can have values from 1-10 etc.

Mark the mean value on the histogram.

Results :

DIAGRAMS SHOWING RESULTS FOR SHORT AND LONG DISTANCES

Results for Short distance

Eye level

Reference mark

Eye level = (150 ± 0.2) cm

Width of each section = 2 cm
Results for long distance

Eye level

Reference mark

Eye level = (150 ± 0.2) cm

Width of each section = 2 cm
 Division of points on the
paper

TABLES SHOWING RESULTS FOR LONG AND SHORT DISTANCES

Short Distance
Section (x1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# of points (n1) 2 5 12 11 9 15 10 12 14 13

Long Distance
Section (x1) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# of points (n1) 5 8 8 11 12 12 11 11 13 13
Calculations

Calculating mean value of measurements

x = 1/N[ ∑(x1 * n1)]

N for short distance = 103

Mean Value of Measurements for Short Distance
x1 n1 x1 * n1 ∑(x1 * n1) 1/N 1/N[ ∑(x1 * n1)]
1 2 2 649 9.71 x 10-3 6.3
2 5 10
3 12 36
4 11 44
5 9 45
6 15 90
7 10 70
8 12 96
9 14 126
10 13 130

N for long distance = 104

Mean Value of Measurements for Long Distance
x1 n1 x1 * n1 ∑(x1 * n1) 1/N 1/N[ ∑(x1 * n1)]
1 5 5 633 9.62 x 10-3 6.1
2 8 16
3 8 24
4 11 44
5 12 60
6 12 72
7 11 77
8 11 88
9 13 117
10 13 130
 Calculating standard deviation
x for short distance is 6.3
N for short distance = 103

S = √[ ∑n 1(x 1−x)2]/ N

Standard deviation for Short Distance

x1 x1 - x (x1 - x ) 2
n1 * (x1 - x )2 ∑ n1(x1 - x )2 [∑ n1(x1 - x )2 ]/N √[∑n 1(x 1−x)2]/ N
1 -5.3 28.1 56.2 674.7 6.6 2.6
2 -4.3 18.5 92.5
3 -3.3 10.9 130.8
4 -2.3 5.3 58.3
5 -1.3 1.7 15.3
6 -0.3 0.1 1.5
7 0.7 0.5 5.0
8 1.7 2.9 34.8
9 2.7 7.3 102.2
10 3.7 13.7 178.1

x for long distance is 6.1

N for long distance = 104

Standard deviation for long Distance

x1 x1 - x (x1 - x ) 2
n1 * (x1 - x )2 ∑ n1(x1 - x )2 [∑ n1(x1 - x )2 ]/N √[∑n 1(x 1−x)2]/ N
1 -5.10 26.01 130.05 760.24 7.31 2.70
2 -4.10 16.81 134.48
3 -3.10 9.61 76.88
4 -2.10 4.41 48.51
5 -1.10 1.21 14.52
6 -0.10 0.01 0.12
7 0.90 0.81 8.91
8 1.90 3.61 39.71
9 2.90 8.41 109.33
10 3.90 15.21 197.73
Experimental value for eye level is x ± s

Short distance
Eye level (150 ± 0.2) cm is at the border between 6 & 7
x is at 6.3
Midpoint of 6 = 149cm
x is at 6.3 is therefore = 149.6cm

s = 2cm * 2.6
= 5.2cm
Experimental eye level for short distance = (149.6 ± 5.2) cm

Long distance
Eye level (150 ± 0.2) cm is at the border between 6 & 7
x is at 6.1
Midpoint of 6 = 149cm
x is at 6.3 is therefore = 149.2cm

s = 2cm * 2.7
= 5.4cm

Experimental eye level for long distance = (149.2 ± 5.4) cm

Percentage uncertainty in both distances

Short distance
(5.2/149.6) * 100 = 3.5%

Long distance
(5.4/149.2) * 100 = 3.6%
Graphs
Discussion

All measurements of physical quantities are not perfect and are subject to some level of
uncertainty which tells how far a given measurement is from its ‘true value’. Errors such as
random, systematic, and gross errors are the usual causes for this uncertainty. For precision, the
degree of consistency and agreement among independent measurements of the same quantity,
and accuracy, the closeness of agreement between a measured value and a true or accepted value,
to be evaluated, all measurements are quoted with a level of uncertainty and this uncertainty will
allow one to evaluate the reliability of the measurement. The uncertainty estimate associated
with a measurement should account for both the accuracy and precision of the measurement.

In this eye experiment, several darts were thrown. Each targeting a measured eye level of (150
± 0.2)cm for a long and short distance. The paper was divided into 10 equal parts and histograms
were then plotted to show the distribution of points in each section. Going through as many
midpoints as possible, each histogram developed a bell-shaped curve which indicates a normal
distribution of errors. Each bell curve was found to be imprecise but accurate as each had a wide
spread of readings but had the tip of the bell approximately above or close to the calculated true
value. A trend of having a high point count in higher sections was noticed and this might have
been due to factors such as fatigue and point of release after several throws. A noteworthy
observation is also that the short distance had more points in sections 6 and 7 which are the two
sections which border the measured eye level having 25 points while the longer distance had 23.

To determine the measured true value mentioned above for each distance, the experimenter uses
the mean and standard deviation to represent the estimated value and its uncertainty respectively.
The calculated eye level was found to be lower than the measured eye level of (150 ± 0.2)cm,
with readings of (149.6 ± 5.2) cm and (149.2 ± 5.4) cm for the short and long distances
respectively. The short distance is closer to the measured value and has a lower uncertainty
which would indicate that accuracy decreased with distance as the longer distance is further
away from the measured eye level and has a higher level of uncertainty (assuming that the floor
is flat and eye level did not change with distance). This accuracy might have also decreased
because of the longer distance being done after the short distance which is the fatigue factor once
again.
The percentage error of both distances was found to be 3.5% and 3.6% for the short and long
distance, again indicating that the longer distance is less accurate with a higher percentage error.
Since both percentage errors are less than 5% they are fairly reliable.

Precautions
1. Try to be consistent with point of dart release and power in each throw.
2. Once the sheet of paper being used has enough points its best to replace it to prevent
overlapping points being overlooked or the paper being damaged which can damage
results.

Sources of error
1. Fatigue after several throws which lessen accuracy.

Conclusion

The distribution of measurements of the eye level were successfully examined, giving a
calculated eye level of (149.6 ± 5.2) cm and (149.2 ± 5.4) cm for the short and long distances
respectively.