111-2 Data Analysis Assignment

NTU General Physics Laboratory

March 2023

Final V2.1

0 Introduction
There are five sections in this assignment. The total score is 103 pts but the full score should be up to 100 pts. The
tasks are designed based on the information from the textbook named ”General Physics Laboratory-II” published
in March 2023. Please download the answer sheet from the link below：https://reurl.cc/dWAXoD. Please
complete the tasks in this answer sheet before the deadline. For scientific writing, always use terms and symbols
which are defined already from the assignment. If you want to use symbols not defined in the textbook, please
make sure you define them before using them. When writing equations, please address the following three points:

• Address what value of the physical quantity will be plugged in.

• Address what formula you will use (write the equations and where you got this formula)
• Address the final value calculated.
Do not use bullet points to list your statements which could have been written as a paragraph. Only use bullet
points when those points contain sentences with similar structure in grammar or a similar level of importance.
Please also have appropriate font size and typesetting:
• Use “細明體” or “標楷體” for Chinese characters. Use “Times New Roman” or “Serif” for writing in
English except for equations. Use Greek symbols properly instead of replacing them with alphabets.
• When a sentence contains a physical quantity with a number and a unit, put a space between them. The
same principle applies to the connection between a Chinese character and a symbol or number.
• If a symbol represents a value, use an italic font. Upright font for everything else unless it’s necessary.
• Please address the page number in the whole file.
Here is an example:“ The coefficient of linear thermal expansion is αstd = 1.9 × 10−5 ◦ C−1 .” Please note that the
Greek symbol is not “a,” and this symbol represents a number, so it’s italic. The subscription “std” stands for
“standard” which is NOT a number, so it’s upright font. The spaces between numbers and characters are
appropriate. The subscription and superscription are also in proper form.
If you have any questions, please ask your T.A. directly or contact the Center of General Physics Lab
( gphyslab@phys.ntu.edu.tw ). Put “Questions about 111-2 Data Analysis Assignment” in the title when emailing.

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1 Descriptive Statistics and the Central Limit Theorem
How can the flow rate, Q, of a fluid through a narrow tube be analyzed using the provided table of measurements?
Table 1 shows the measured values of flow rate Q in cm3 /s. Answer the following questions using Section 1.2.2
and Appendix A of the textbook:

Table 1: The sets of the flow rate Q measurements

0.257 0.253 0.260 0.250 0.251

0.251 0.257 0.258 0.255 0.252

(i) Describe the process of determining the best estimate value of Q and provide the final result. Significant
figures need not be aligned. [3 pts]
(ii) Describe the process of determining the standard deviation of Q and provide the final result, simplified to
two significant figures. [3 pts]
(iii) Describe the process of determining the standard uncertainty of Q and provide the final result, simplified to
two significant figures. [3 pts]

(iv) Express the measured Q with absolute uncertainty in an abbreviated format.[3 pts]

2 The Example of using Least Squares Regression

How can the variation of intensity, I, of light passing through a lithium fluoride crystal be analyzed as a function
of the angular position of a polarizer, θ?
Table 2 provides the measured values of intensity for different polarizer angles, θ, assuming the relationship
betweenI and θ is given by
I = [Imax − Imin ] cos (2θ) + Imin ,
where Imax and Imin are constants. Please refer to the QR code in Appendix A.5 for more information related to
the following questions:

Table 2: Variation of intensity with polariser angle.

polarizer angle, θ Intensity, I

degrees (arbitrary units)
00 1.86
20 1.63
40 1.13
60 0.52
80 0.16
100 0.00
120 0.57
140 1.11

(i) Create a graph of I versus cos (2θ). [6 pts]

(ii) Determine whether linear or logarithmic scales should be used. [3 pts]

(iii) Use the graph to estimate the value of I when θ is 90 degrees and simplified the answer to four significant
figures. [3 pts]
(iv) Perform an unweighted fit to find the intercept and slope of a graph of I versus cos (2θ). And simplified the
answers to four significant figures.[3 pts Each]

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 (v) Use the values for the slope and intercept to find the best estimates of Imax and Imin . And simplified the
answers to four significant figures. [3 pts Each]
(vi) If it is assumed that the measurement uncertainties of polarizer angle and Intensity are 0.29 and 0.01
respectively. Determine the uncertainties of the intercept, slope, and Imax . And simplified the answers to
two significant figures. [3 pts Each]

3 Transforming Data for Least Squares

How can the relationship between the pressure, P , at the bottom of a water tank and the depth of water, h, in the
tank be expressed using the equation P = ρgh + PA , where PA is atmospheric pressure, g is acceleration due to
gravity, and ρ is the density of water?
During an experiment, P is measured as the depth of water, h, in the tank increases. Assuming that the equation
above is valid:
(i) Explain what should be plotted on the x-axis and y-axis of an x − y graph in order to obtain a straight line.
[6 pts]
(ii) Describe how the intercept and slope of that line are related to ρ, g, and PA in the equation. [6 pts]

4 The chart for decoding information for color banded axial resistors
Figure 1 shows the color chart used for decoding information for color banded axial resistors.

Figure 1: Color chart for resistors. Source: Digi-Key electronics.

(i) Can tolerances of resistors be calculated as uncertainties? why or why not? [6 pts]
(ii) Now there are two resistors connected in series. If measured the circuit by meters, the current flowing is
0.10(3) mA, and the voltage difference across the two resistors is respectively 2.00(3) V and 0.87(3) V .
Calculate the equivalent resistance of the circuit in Ω. [6 pts]
(iii) Continuing from the above question, what combination of color bands might be possible for a resistor with
a voltage difference of 0.87(3) V at both ends? There are more than 8 answers, but just write down 3
combinations here.[6 pts]

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5 Written Report Corrections
The task is to modify a physics lab report on simple rotational motion. The report requires improvements, and
the resources to be used for modifying it are Appendix A and Appendix B of the textbook, along with reasonable
judgment. To make the required changes, the following guides are available:
Reference 1 (Click): This text provides information about the simple rotational motion experiment, including
objectives, background, apparatus, and procedures.
Reference 2 (Click): This operation video includes English subtitles and provides a demonstration of the
experiment.
Before describing how to fix the report, the task is to identify up to 4 areas that need improvement. Each
modification point carries up to 7 points, with a total maximum score of 28 points.
Here is the report(Click): Before you describe how to fix the report, identify what is wrong with the report.
For example, one area that needs improvement is the redundancy between the contents of 4.1(P.5) and 4.2(P.6)
and those of 3.2(P.3) and 3.3(P.4). It is suggested that the moment of inertia of the gyro, which is the result of
the analysis, should be placed in the chapter of analysis. Therefore, the contents of 4.1 and 4.2 should be deleted.