Instrumentation and Measurement

RME 2101
Assignment Questions

Q1. a) What is the area under the curve between z = - 1 .43 and z = 1 .43?
b) What is the significance of this area?

Q2. What range of x will contain 90% of the data?

Q3. During a 12-hour test of a steam generator, the inlet pressure is to be held
constant at 4.00 MPa. For proper performance, the pressure should not deviate from
this value by more than about 1 %. The inlet pressure was measured 100 times during
the test. Various factors caused the readings to fluctuate, and the resulting data are
listed in Table. The resolution of the digital pressure gauge used was 0.001 MPa.
The number of results, m, is the number of readings falling in an interval of ±0.005
MPa centered about the listed pressure. Calculate mean and standard deviation.
Q4. Determine a 99% confidence interval for the mean pressure calculated in Q3.
Q5. Twelve values in a sample have an average of x` and a standard deviation of Sx.
What is the 95% confidence interval for the true mean value, μ?
Q6. A simple postal scale of the equal-arm balance type, is supplied with 1/2-, 1-, 2-
, and 4-oz machined brass weights. For a quality check, the manufacturer randomly
selects a sample of 14 of the 1-oz weights and weighs them on a precision scale. The
results, in ounces, are as follows:
1.08 1.03 0.96 0.95 1.04 1.01 0.98 0.99 1.05 1.08 0.97 1.00 0.98 1.01
Based on this sample and the assumption that the parent population is normally
distributed, what is the 95% confidence interval for the population mean?
Q7. Consider the data of Table 5, where 20 values of an arbitrary measurement is
presented.

Find-
• sample mean
• sample standard deviation
• value (range) of a random measurement with 90% and 95%
• probability, or the uncertainty related to the measurement with
• 90% and 95% probability
• population mean with 90% and 95% probability.

Q8. A certain steel bar is measured with a device that has a known precision of ±0.5
mm when a large number of measurements is taken. How many measurements are
necessary to establish the mean length x` with a 5 percent level of significance such
that xt` = x` ± 0.2 mm.
Q9. Ten observations of a voltage are made with ē = 15 V and Se = ±0.1 V. Determine
the voltage for 5 and 1 percent significance levels.
Q10. Ten measurements are made of the thickness of a metal plate which give 3.61,
3.62, 3.60, 3.63, 3.61, 3.62, 3.60, 3.62, 3.64, and 3.62 mm.
Determine the mean value, standard deviation, and tolerance limits for a 90%
confidence level.
Q11. A brass rod is repeatedly loaded to a fixed tensile load and the axial strain in
the rod is determined using a strain gage. Thirty results are obtained under fixed test
conditions, yielding an average strain of ϵ = 520 μ-strain (520 ppm). Statistical
analysis of the distribution of measurements gives a precision uncertainty of Pϵ = 21
μ-strain at a 95% confidence level. The bias uncertainty is estimated to be Bϵ = 29
μ-strain with odds of 19:1 (95% confidence). What is the total uncertainty of the
strain?
Q12. Using the data of the Q6, determine if the sample of 14 of the 1-oz weights
comes from a population of weights whose true mean weight is greater than 1.00 oz,
assuming a confidence level of 99%.
Q13. From the pressures mentioned in Q3 ,can we conclude that the experimental
data obtained indicate a target pressure of 4.00 MPa at a confidence level of 99%?
Q14. An apartment manager wishes to determine if the lifetimes are different, under
similar conditions, for two major brands of light bulbs. In the following sample data,
the lifetime is in months.
Bulb A: 7.2, 7.6, 6.9, 8.2, 7.3, 7.8, 6.6, 6.9, 5.5, 7.4, 5.7, 6.2
Bulb B: 7.5, 8.7, 7.7, 7.5, 6.7, 1 1 .2, 7.0, 10.7, 7.0, 8.6, 6.1, 6.3, 7.8, 8.7, 6.1
Q15. Consider the calculation of electrical power, P=EI
E=100V±5V
I=10A±0.1A
Find the uncertainty in P.
Q16. Resistance of a copper wire is R = R0[1 + α(T - 20)], where R0 = 6Ω ±0.3% is
the resistance at 200 oC, α = 0.004 oC-1 ± 1% is the temperature coefficient of
resistance, and the temperature of the wire is T = 30 ± 1 oC. Calculate the resistance
of the wire and its uncertainty.
Q17. A transducer responding to a 5000-Hz signal also picks up 60 Hz noise. The
resulting output is
(5sin(2π⋅60⋅t)+25cos(2π⋅5000⋅t)) mV
to remove the 60-cycle noise, a high-pass filter with a cutoff of 1000 Hz is
introduced. What is the filtered output?

Q18. A test specimen undergoes a substantial strain of 500 με. The gauge factor is
2. The nominal resistance of the gauge is 120 ohm. Find the changes in the resistance
of the gauge.

Q19. A strain gauge and bridge circuit are used to measure the tension force in a bar
of steel (E = 30 x 106) that has a cross-sectional area of 2 in2. The strain gauge has a
nominal resistance of 120 Ω and a GF of 2. The bridge is supplied with 10 V. When
the bar is unloaded, the bridge is balanced so the output is 0 V. Then force is applied
to the bar, and the bridge voltage goes to 0.0005 V. Find the stress and strain on the
bar.
Q20. Construct a force sensor with the following characteristics;
• Range: 0-30 lb
• Deformation: 0.5 in. (maximum)
• Output: 0.1 V/lb
• A 1 kΩ linear motion pot is available with a 1-in. stroke.

Q21. Consider the force measurement using a strain gauge on a shaft under
compression. Let us consider that the shaft material is steel. The elastic Young’s
modulus E = 2 x 1011 N∕m2 , and the cross-sectional area of the shaft is A = 10.0 cm2.
We have a strain gauge bonded on the shaft in the direction of the tension. The
nominal resistance of the strain gauge is R1 = 600Ω, the gauge factor is G = 2.0. The
other three legs of the Wheatstone bridge also have constant resistances of R2 = R3
= R4 = 600Ω. The reference voltage for the Wheatstone bridge is 10.0 VDC. If the
output voltage measured Vout = 2.0 mV, what is the force?
Q22. A PT100 RTD is being used in a system. The present resistance reading is
110Ω.
Q23. A PT1000 RTD is used with a constant current detector network, connected to
a 1mA supply. What is the voltage range for a sensor used to measure between −10°C
and 40 °C?
Q24. An NTC thermistor (T0= 25°C, R0=4.7 kΩ, B = 3950 K) is connected into a
potential divider as shown in the figure. Calculate the output voltage at 10°C, 20°C
and 30°C.

Q25. A Wheatstone bridge detector network with an NTC thermistor (T0= 25°C, R0=
4.7 kΩ, B = 3950 K) in position R1. The supply is 12V and R2, R3 and R4 are chosen
to be 10kΩ. Calculate the output voltage at 10°C, 20°C and 30°C.
Q26. A Wheatstone bridge detector network with the NTC thermistor from Q25(T0=
25 °C, R0= 4.7 kΩ, B = 3950 K) in position R3. The supply is 12V and R1, R2 and
R4 are chosen to be 5kΩ. Calculate the output voltage at 10°C, 20°C and 30°C.
Q27. Construct a temperature sensor using the LM35 that has the following
specifications:
• Range: 5-100°C
• Supply voltage: 5 V
• Output: 0.1 V/°C
Q28. A standard two-junction thermocouple configuration is being used to measure
the temperature in a wind tunnel. The reference junction is held at a constant
temperature of 10°C. We have only a thermocouple table referenced to 0°C. A
portion of the table follows. We want to determine the output voltage when the
measuring junction is exposed to an air temperature of 100°C.
Q29. During an experiment, a thermocouple circuit has its reference junctions in an
ice bath and its measuring junction in a duct carrying warm air at 40°C. The
experiment lasts several hours and much of the ice in the Dewar melts, leaving the
reference junctions in 5°C water at the bottom of the Dewar. If the experimenter
nevertheless assumes that the junctions are at 0°C, what will be the error in his
measurement?