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The document describes an experiment to measure the thickness of M&M candies using indirect and direct measurement methods. Indirect measurement involved calculating thickness from volume and diameter measurements of crushed M&M cylinders. Direct measurement used calipers to directly measure individual M&M thicknesses. Both methods yielded similar average thickness values around 0.7 cm, indicating that either method provides a good estimate of average M&M thickness.

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Brittany Ann Moliver
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8K views3 pages

1 18

The document describes an experiment to measure the thickness of M&M candies using indirect and direct measurement methods. Indirect measurement involved calculating thickness from volume and diameter measurements of crushed M&M cylinders. Direct measurement used calipers to directly measure individual M&M thicknesses. Both methods yielded similar average thickness values around 0.7 cm, indicating that either method provides a good estimate of average M&M thickness.

Uploaded by

Brittany Ann Moliver
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics

1.18

Table 1 - Indirect Measurement Trial Volume (CM3) Diameter (CM) Radius (CM) M&M Thickness (CM) 1 2 75 83 11.34 12.68 5.67 6.34 0.743 0.658

Table 2 - Direct Measurement Trial 1 2 3 Table 3 - Calculated Averages Method Indirect (from Table 1) Direct (from Table 2) Calculated Average Thickness (cm) 0.700 0.689 M&M Thickness (CM) 0.642 0.741 0.683

Questions: 1. When you performed Step 2 of the procedure, you actually made a cylinder of M&Ms. The cylinder was rather "smushed," and the height of the cylinder was the thickness of an M&M. Recall that the equation for the volume of a cylinder is V = (3.14)r2h. A. Rearrange the equation for "h." Show your work. V = (3.14) r ___V_ _ = (3.14)r2
2

h (3.14)r2 h_ (3.14)r2

___V___ = h (3.14)r2

h = ___V___ (3.14)r2

B. Using the data from Table 1 and your equation, calculate the average thickness (height) of an M&M for each trial. Record your calculated values in Table 1. Hint: Students often forget that they must use the radius, and not the diameter, in the equation. Copy Table 1 into the assignment. Trial 1: h = 75 / (3.14 x 5.672) h = 0.743 cm Trial 2: h = 83 / (3.14 x 6.342) h = 0.658 cm

C. You now have two values for the thickness of an M&M in Table 1. Determine the average M&M thickness using these values and record your value in Table 3. (0.743 + 0.658) / 2 = 0.700 cm

D. You have just determined a value for the thickness of an M&M using the indirect method. What makes this method "indirect"? I measured the thickness through other means than directly measuring the thickness of a single M&M.

2. When Step 4 of the procedure was performed, a vernier caliper was used to measure the thickness of an M&M. A. Using the data from Table 2, calculate the average M&M thickness and record your value in Table 3. Copy Table 2 and Table 3 into the assignment. (0.642 + 0.741 + 0.683) / 3 = 0.689 cm

B. You have just determined a value for the thickness of an M&M using the direct method. What makes this method "direct"? The thickness of the M&M was measured directly, using a measuring tool for a single M&M.

3. Which method (indirect or direct) yields the "best" value for the average thickness of an M&M from the package? Explain the reasons for your choice. I feel that both methods yielded good values for the average thickness of an M&M because both answers were very close to each other (pretty much 0.7 cm thick).

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