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G10 Uncertainty

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16 views12 pages

G10 Uncertainty

Uploaded by

jbiswas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Precision vs.

Accuracy

• Precision is how closely together


measurements agree with each other
• 0.001 vs 0.1

• Accuracy is how close to the accepted value


a measurement is
• 5.50 vs 5.75 (actual is 5.55)
Precision vs. Accuracy

• Precision:
• How close values
are to each other
• Accuracy
• How close to
actual value
Uncertainty

• All measurements and results are not 100% certain

• This uncertainty must be reported

• Uncertainty is caused by 2 types of error:


• Random Error
• Systematic Error
Random Uncertainty

• If measurements are above and below the


true value with equal probability

• Errors are random in nature

• Usually caused by the person making the


measurements

• Can be decreases by averaging multiple trials


Random Uncertainty
Random Uncertainty

• Usually caused by the person


making the measurements:
• Using a stopwatch
• Parallax error (angle viewed)
Readable Error
• Different instruments have different
levels of precision and thus limited by
division of its scale:
• For example: A thermometer with
increments of 23 C, 24C, 25 C, etc.
cannot reliably be used to measure
every 0.1 C
• Rule of Thumb:
• Error for analogue instruments is ½
the smallest division
• Error for digital instruments is the
smallest division that the device can
display
Systematic Error

• Due to system or apparatus


being used:
• For Example: Not zeroing
a scale
• Will not be decreases by
averaging multiple trials
• Can be detected by changing
measuring devices
• Can be seen in graphs
Uncertainty

• The degree of which you are unsure of your answer


is known as the uncertainty.

• It can be expressed in two ways:

• Absolute Uncertainty: 15.55 ± 0.05 cm


• Percentage Uncertainty: 15.55 ± 3.2% cm
• This means that you know the length to be
between 15.50 and 15.60
Reading Instruments Analogue:
If measurement is:
Digital: • ½ the value of the smallest
If measurement is: increment
• 14.55 ± 0.01g • Example: Meter stick with
• 14.550 ± 0.001g millimeter increments would
• ONLY for STABLE numbers! be 975.0 ± 0.5mm or 0.9750
± 0.0005m
Uncertainty in Measurement

• How long would you consider this cylinder to be?


• 4.5 cm
• 4.3 cm
• 4.4 cm
• 4.35 cm
4.35 ± 0.05 cm

• Now, what’s the uncertainty? Read every gradation, then estimate one more,
your uncertainty is half of the estimate.
Uncertainty in Averaging

When you average 5 trials together in order to decrease the


random uncertainty how do you report the uncertainty?
Displacement (+/-0.05 m) = 10.71 m
10.20

11.15 Find the difference between the


12.02 AVERAGE and all the trial values
10.20 - 10.71 = 0.51
9.96 11.15 – 10.71 = 0.44 Go with GREATEST value
10.22 12.02 – 10.71 = 1.31
9.96 – 10.71 = 0.75
10.22 – 10.71 = 0.49 10.71 m +/- 1.31m

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