Scribd
Upload
243 views3 pages

(OCR) Combininguncertainties2

The document provides a calculation sheet for combining uncertainties in physics measurements and calculations. It includes 5 examples of calculating values with uncertainties: 1) calculating the length and uncertainty of string remaining after a cut, 2) calculating speed and uncertainty from distance and time measurements, 3) calculating acceleration from changes in speed, 4) calculating density of a cube from its mass and dimensions, 5) calculating the wavelength and uncertainty of light in a Young's slits experiment. The answers section shows the step-by-step working to calculate each value and its uncertainty.

Uploaded by

Arda Kavutçu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
243 views3 pages

(OCR) Combininguncertainties2

The document provides a calculation sheet for combining uncertainties in physics measurements and calculations. It includes 5 examples of calculating values with uncertainties: 1) calculating the length and uncertainty of string remaining after a cut, 2) calculating speed and uncertainty from distance and time measurements, 3) calculating acceleration from changes in speed, 4) calculating density of a cube from its mass and dimensions, 5) calculating the wavelength and uncertainty of light in a Young's slits experiment. The answers section shows the step-by-step working to calculate each value and its uncertainty.

Uploaded by

Arda Kavutçu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

2 Foundations of physics

OCR Physics A Calculation sheet

Combining uncertainty
1 A piece of string 1.000 ( 0.002) m is cut from a ball of string of length 100.000
( 0.002) m. Calculate the length of the remaining string and the uncertainty in this
length. (2 marks)
2 A runner completes 100 ( 0.02) m in 18.6 ( 0.2) s. Calculate his average speed
and the uncertainty in this value. (2 marks)
3 A car accelerates, with constant acceleration, from 24 ( 1) m s–1 to 31( 2) m s–1
in 9.5 ( 0.1) s. Calculate the acceleration. State your answer with its absolute
uncertainty. (3 marks)
4 A cube has a mass of 7.870 ( 0.001) kg and sides of length 10.0 ( 0.1) cm.
Give the value of the density of the cube. (2 marks)
5 In a Young’s slits experiment, two slits that are very close together are
illuminated, and on a distant screen an interference pattern of light and dark fringes
is seen. The separation of the fringes can be used to calculate the wavelength of the
light. In a demonstration of this experiment:
 the double slit separation, a  0.20 ( 0.01) mm
 the distance from the slits to the screen, D  4.07 ( 0.01) m
 the distance between two adjacent bright fringes x  12.0 ( 0.05) mm.

The equation for calculating wavelength is λ  .


a Calculate:
i the wavelength, λ, of the light (1 mark)
ii the absolute uncertainty in the wavelength. (2 marks)
b The distance between 11 fringes (10 spaces)  120.0 ( 0.05) mm. Using this
value, calculate the new absolute uncertainty in the wavelength. (2 marks)
c Comment on whether the uncertainty in the wavelength could be significantly
reduced by increasing the number of fringes measured to, for example, 20 or more.
(1 mark)

© Oxford University Press 2015 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements


This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 1
2 Foundations of physics
OCR Physics A Calculation sheet

Answers
1 99.000 (1 mark)  0.004 (1 mark)

2 Speed = dist / time


Average speed  5.376 m s–1 (1 mark)
Percentage uncertainty is 0.02%  1.08%  1.1%  1% to nearest %
Absolute uncertainty is  0.05 m s–1 (1 mark) (accept percentage or absolute
uncertainty)
3 Change in speed  7 ( 3) m s–1
Acceleration  0.737 m s–2 (1 mark)
Percentage uncertainty  [(1/24) + (2/31) + (0.1/9.5) ] × 100 = 11.6% (1
mark)
Acceleration with absolute uncertainty  0.7 ( 0.3) m s–2 (1 mark)
4 Density  7870 kg m –3
(1 mark)

Percentage uncertainty   100%  3 

 0.01%  3%
 3% nearest %
Density  7900 ( 3% or  200) kg m–3 (1 mark) (accept percentage or absolute
uncertainty)

5.a i

 5.896  10–7 m
 5.9  10–7 m (2 significant figures) (1 mark)

ii % uncertainty in  

 5%  0.4%  0.2%
 5.6%
 6% (to nearest %) (1 mark)
Absolute uncertainty  6% of 5.9  10–7 m
 3.54  10–8 m
 0.4  10–7 m (1 significant figure) (1 mark)

b New % uncertainty  5%   0.2%

 5%  0.04%  0.2%
 5% to nearest % (1 mark)
Absolute uncertainty  5% of 5.9  10 m
–7

 2.95  10–8 m

© Oxford University Press 2015 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements


This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 2
2 Foundations of physics
OCR Physics A Calculation sheet

 0.3  10–7 m (1 significant figure) (1 mark)


c The 5% uncertainty is due to the uncertainty in the slit separation a, so a
further reduction in the uncertainty in x would not reduce the total uncertainty.
(1 mark)

© Oxford University Press 2015 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements


This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 3

You might also like