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Measuring Precision Expt1

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37 views3 pages

Measuring Precision Expt1

Uploaded by

layebigs81
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment: Measuring Equipment and Precision

Aims
 To understand how the different equipment affects the accuracy of data.

Activity 1- Measuring the volume of a test tube

Safety

Take care taken when moving around the lab.


Don’t fit the pipette filler yourself, ask your teacher.

Apparatus
 6 small (identical) test tubes
 3 measuring cylinders of different sizes
 1 x 10 ml graduated pipette & pipette filler
 5 ml syringe
 2ml syringe
 1 small beaker (100ml)

Method
You will measure the maximum volume of the water held by a full test tube six times.

1. Fill all six test tubes as full as possible with water


2. Pour the water from the 1st test tube into the smallest measuring cylinder and measure the
volume.
3. Record the volume of water and the size of the smallest graduation on the measuring
cylinder in the table below.
4. Repeat step 2 with a larger measuring cylinder to measure the water in test tube 2.
5. Repeat step 2 again, but with an even larger meauring cyllinder for test tube 3.
6. Using a graduated pipette remove all of the water from the 4th tube to measure the volume.
7. Use a syringe to remove all the water from the 5th test tube and measure the volume.
8. Finally use the beaker to measure the volume of the 6th test tube.
9. For each piece of measuring equipment check you have recorded
a. the smallest graduation on its measuring scale and
b. the units.

© David Faure, InThinking http://www.thinkib.net/biology 1


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Experiment: Measuring Equipment and Precision

Results

Record your results in the table.

Uncertainty of Overall
Volume of one uncertainty
Measuring water in Smallest measurement
Units
Instrument the test graduation (if you made
tube (half the smallest multiple
graduation) measurements)

To do
1. Describe any variation in your results for volumes of the test tubes.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Suggest why there are differences in the volumes measured.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. What is the measuring error (the uncertainty) of each piece of equipment?


This is half the smallest graduation. Add this to your results table.

4. If you used the piece of equipment more than once to take one measurement you must
multiply the error by the number of times it was used. Add this to your results table.

5. Which piece of equipment gives the most accurate answer?

© David Faure, InThinking http://www.thinkib.net/biology 2


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Experiment: Measuring Equipment and Precision

Degrees of precision and uncertainty in data

For rulers and instruments with digital displays the degree of precision is plus or minus (±) the
smallest division on the instrument.

For apparatus like a thermometer, a pipette or a measuring cylinder the uncertainty is usually plus
or minus half of the smallest division.

For example,
A reading of 4.1 on a pipette with divisions of 0.1 cm3 could be any value between 4.05 and 4.15 cm3
the uncertainty is +/- 0.05 cm3

Note:

Measurements in biology experiments must have the same number of decimal places as the
instrument’s precision. This would mean that a pipette value of 4.1 cm3 becomes 4.10 cm3 (± 0.05
cm3).
Note: the volume is written to one extra decimal place so it is consistent with the uncertainty.

The uncertainty is sometimes bigger than the precision, for example a measurement of 12s may be
recorded using a stopwatch with a precision of 0.01s. The human error is greater, +/- 1s is likely.

The International System of Units (SI units).

IB biologists are expected to use the International System of Units (SI Units) agreed in 1960.

Mass: in kilograms (kg) or grams (g) or milligrams (mg)

Length: in metres (m), millimetres (mm), micrometres (μm), nanometres (nm) or centimetres (cm)

Time: is measured in seconds (s)

Volume: the cubic metre (m3) is too large for most biology so the following ‘quasi-SI units’ are used.

• dm3 equal to litres


• cm3 equal to ml (millilitres)

Concentration in solutions is usually given as mass of solute per volume of solution. The units are

• g dm-3 or mg dm-3 ,

Solution concentrations can also be described as percentages (%) on a weight per volume basis (i.e.
% w/v) and refers to g solute dissolved in 100 cm3 water (100cm3 of water has a mass of 100g).

© David Faure, InThinking http://www.thinkib.net/biology 3


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