TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MOMBASA

EXP 1: PRECISION MEASUREMENT

Objectives:
a) To study some of the instruments and methods used in precision
measurements.
b) To determine the precision of various measurement instruments.
c) To compute the volume and density of various items.
Theory
Measurement is the process of determining the magnitude of a quantity, e.g. length and
mass, relative to a unit of measurement, e.g. meter and kilogram. There are certain
standard units of measurement allocated various quantities called SI Units.
The precision of a measurement is the degree to which repeated measurements under
unchanged conditions show the same results. It is also sometimes defined as the
number of significant digits to which a value has been reliably measured.
A measurement system can be precise but not accurate, accurate but not precise, both or
neither. A precise and accurate system/instrument is said to be valid.
Length
This is the measure of the of the distance between two separate and distinct points or
the longest dimension of an object. The SI Unit of length is the meter (m). Other
sub−units are centimeter, millimeter, micrometer etc.
Mass
This is the measure of the quantity of matter that a body contains, irrespective of its
bulk or volume. The SI Unit of mass is kilogram (Kg). Other sub−units include gram,
milligram etc.
Precision measurement refers to the evaluation of the consistency of measurements
taken from one object more than once or using more than one instrument.
Precision and accuracy are often mistaken to be similar, but they actually are not.
The accuracy of a measurement is the degree of closeness of the measurement to the
actual or true value
Apparatus/ Equipment
a) Meter rule
b) Vernier calipers
c) Copper cylinder
d) Micrometer screw gauge
e) Glass capillary tube
f) Weighing balance
g) Traveling microscope
Procedure
i. Record zero errors of various measuring instruments provided
ii. Determine and record reading errors of various instruments
iii. Measure (length, diameter and mass) of the objects provided using the
measuring instruments provided where possible and record the results.
Data
Record data in the table below and conduct data analysis
N.B. You must include in the table the units of any measurements you take.

METER VERNIER MICROMETER BALANCE

Items
RULE CALLIPERS SCREW GAUGE

Zero error

Reading Error

1. Copper
cylinder:
a) Height

b) Diameter

2. Copper wire:
a) Length

b) Diameter
 3. Capillary tube:
a) length

b) Diameter

4. Steel Ball
(Diameter)

Items Volume Density

1. Copper Cylinder

2. Steel ball

3. Capillary tube
Errors
Now work out the errors in Volumes and Densities calculated above by using the
readings errors of the appropriate instruments.

Error in: Volume Density

1. Copper cylinder

2. Steel ball

3. Capillary tube
Draw conclusion conclusion from the data collected.