Ain Shams University

Faculty of Engineering
New Programs, CHEP

Measurements & Instrumentation

– MEP231

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Making Measurements

• Why do we measure?
• What do we measure?

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Measurement error is the difference between
a measured value of a quantity and its true value. In
statistics, an error is not a "mistake".

Precision error is random error, because It is

random error that affects precision, of a data. It is also
called human error. It can be reduced by taking
multiple measurements and averaging them.

Bias refers to the tendency of measures to

systematically shift in one direction from the
true value and as such are often
called systematic errors. Such errors are often
caused by poorly calibrated instruments.
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Bias, Precision, and Total Error
Total Error

Bias Error

Precision
Error

X True X measured

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In other words, accuracy describes
the difference between the measurement
and the part's actual value,
while precision describes the variation
you see when you measure the same
part repeatedly with the same device.

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Precise Accurate

Precise & Accurate

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 The sensitivity of measurement is a measure of the change in
instrument output that
occurs when the quantity being measured changes by a given
amount. Thus, sensitivity
is the ratio:

scale deflection / value of measurand producing deflection

The sensitivity of measurement is therefore the slope of the

straight line drawn

If, for example, a pressure of 2 bar produces a deflection of 10 degrees in

a pressure transducer, the sensitivity of the instrument is 5 degrees/bar
(assuming that the deflection is zero with zero pressure applied).

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If the input to an instrument is gradually increased from zero, the input will
have to reach a certain minimum level before the change in the instrument
output reading is of a large enough magnitude to be detectable. This
minimum level of input is known as the threshold of the instrument.

As an illustration, a car speedometer typically has

a threshold of about 15 km/h. This means that, if the vehicle starts
from rest and accelerates,
no output reading is observed on the speedometer until the speed
reaches 15 km/h.

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 Sensitivity to disturbance
As variations occur in the ambient temperature

Such environmental changes affect instruments in two main ways, known as

zero drift and sensitivity drift. Zero drift is sometimes known by the alternative
term, bias.
Zero drift or bias describes the effect where the zero
reading of an instrument is modified by a change in
ambient conditions. This causes a constant error that
exists over the full range of measurement of the
instrument.

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Steps to Calculate the Percent Error

Subtract the accepted value from the

experimental value.
Take the absolute value of step 1.
Divide that answer by the accepted value.
Multiply that answer by 100 and add the
% symbol to express the answer as a
percentage.

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To calculate the standard deviation for
a sample of N measurements:
Sum all the measurements and divide by
N to get the average, or mean.
Now, subtract this average from each of
the N measurements to obtain N
"deviations".
Square each of these N deviations and add
them all up.
Divide this result by. (N − 1) Best Estimate ± Uncertainty. Example:
a measurement of 5.07 g ± 0.02 g means
that the experimenter is confident that the
actual value for the quantity being
measured lies between 5.05 g and 5.09 g.
The uncertainty is the experimenter's
best estimate of how far an experimental
quantity might be from the "true value."
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To calculate the absolute error, use
the formula, “Absolute Error =
Measured Value - Actual Value.” Begin
by plugging the actual value into
the formula, which will either be given to
you or is the standardly accepted value.
Then, make a measurement and put the
measured value into the formula.

Then, divide the sum you

just calculated by n - 1 and take the
square root to get the standard
deviation. Finally, to calculate the
standard error of your estimate, divide
the standard deviation by the square
root of the number of measurements.
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Resolution is the smallest unit
of measurement that can be indicated by
an instrument. Sensitivity is the smallest
amount of difference in quantity that will
change an instrument's reading.
A measuring tape for example will have a
resolution, but not sensitivity.

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Sensitivity of Thermometer

Using a thermometer with a smaller bulb – A

smaller bulb contains less mercury and hence
absorbs heat in shorter time.
A glass bulb with thinner wall – Heat can be
transferred to the bulb easily.
Capillary with narrow bore – produces a
greater change in the length of the mercury
column.

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 Plus or Minus

We can show the error

using the "Plus or ±
:Minus" sign

When the value could be

:½between 6½ and 7
±0.5 7
The error is ±0.5
When the value could be
:between 7 and 9
±1 8
The error is ±1

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Example: a fence is measured as 12.5
meters long, accurate to 0.1 of a meter
Accurate to 0.1 m means it could be up
to 0.05 m either way:
Length = 12.5 ±0.05 m
So it could really be anywhere between
12.45 m and 12.55 m long.

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 Absolute, Relative and Percentage
Error

The Absolute Error is the difference between the actual and measured value.
But ... when measuring we don't know the actual value! So we use the maximum
possible error.

The Relative Error is the Absolute Error divided by the actual measurement. We
don't know the actual measurement, so the best we can do is use the measured
value:
Relative Error = Absolute Error / Measured Value

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Example: fence (continued)
Length = 12.5 ±0.05 m
So:
Absolute Error = 0.05 m
And:
Relative Error = 0.05 m / 12.5 m = 0.004
And:
Percentage Error = 0.4%

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Example: The thermometer measures to
the nearest 2 degrees. The temperature
was measured as 38° C
The temperature could be up to 1° either
side of 38° (i.e. between 37° and 39°)

Temperature = 38 ±1°
So:
Absolute Error = 1°
And:
Relative Error = 1°/ 38° = 0.0263...
And:
Percentage Error = 2.63...%

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Example: You measure the plant to be 80 cm high (to the
nearest cm)
This means you could be up to 0.5 cm wrong (the plant
could be between 79.5 and 80.5 cm high)

Height = 80 ±0.5 cm
So:
Absolute Error = 0.5 cm
And:
Relative Error = 0.5 cm / 80 cm = 0.00625
And:
Percentage Error = 0.625%

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 Area
When working out areas you need to think
about both the width and length ... they
could possibly both be the smallest
measure or both the largest.

Example: Alex measured the field to the nearest meter, and got a width of 6 m and a length of 8 m.
Measuring to the nearest meter means the true value could be up to half a meter smaller or larger.

The width (w) could be from 5.5m to 6.5m:

5.5 ≤ w < 6.5
The length (l) could be from 7.5m to 8.5m:
7.5 ≤ l < 8.5
The area is width × length:
A=w×l
The smallest possible area is: 5.5m × 7.5m = 41.25 m2
The measured area is: 6m × 8m = 48 m2
And the largest possible area is: 6.5m × 8.5m = 55.25 m2

41.25 ≤ A < 55.25

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Absolute, Relative and Percentage Error
The only tricky thing here is ... which is the absolute
error?
From 41.25 to 48 = 6.75
From 48 to 55.25 = 7.25
Answer: pick the biggest one! So:
Absolute Error = 7.25 m2
Relative Error = 7.25 m2 / 48 m2 = 0.151...
Percentage Error = 15.1%
(Which is not very accurate, is it?)

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Volume
And volume has three
measurements: width, length and height!
Each measurement could possibly be the
smallest possible measure, or the largest.

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Example: Sam measured the box to the nearest 2 cm, and got 24 cm × 24 cm × 20 cm
Measuring to the nearest 2 cm means the true value could be up to 1 cm smaller or larger.
The three measurements are:
•24 ±1 cm
•24 ±1 cm
•20 ±1 cm
Volume is width × length × height:
V=w×l×h
The smallest possible Volume is: 23cm × 23cm × 19cm = 10051 cm3
The measured Volume is: 24cm × 24cm × 20cm = 11520 cm3
The largest possible Volume is: 25cm × 25cm × 21cm = 13125 cm3

And so we get:
10051 ≤ V < 13125

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Absolute, Relative and Percentage Error
Absolute error:
From 10051 to 11520 = 1469
From 11520 to 13125 = 1605
Pick the biggest one:
Absolute Error = 1605 cm3
Relative Error = 1605 cm3 / 11520 cm3 = 0.139...
Percentage Error = 13.9%

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If repeated samples were taken and the
95% confidence interval was computed for
each sample, 95% of the intervals would
contain the population mean. A 95%
confidence interval has a 0.95probability
of containing the population mean.

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68% 1 Sigma
95% 2 Sigma
99.7% 3 Sigma

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Taking Measurements

Value lies
between 7.1
& 7.2 cm)
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Taking Measurements

7.16 cm

estimated
digit
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