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CHEMISTRY 001, Errors 1

chemistry errors

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13 views27 pages

CHEMISTRY 001, Errors 1

chemistry errors

Uploaded by

jobtamarasin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHEMISTRY 001

Measurement, Errors and


Significant Figures.

Dr. (Mrs. ) Ndukwe, Nelly Acha


Error and Uncertainty During Experimental
Procedures

 The out come of any experimental procedure is to give a value for


the result obtained that may be near the true value. We can never
say that we know the true result.
 Only that we have a result that may lie within a range of
uncertainty. For example, as a result of a number of measurements
we may have a best estimate of the true value for the acceleration
due to gravity, g, of 9.9 ms-2 and also be confident that our uncertainty
is ± 0.1 ms-2.
If the accepted value lies within our range of uncertainty then we
have performed a good experiment.
The Concept of Accuracy and Precision
In measurements, accuracy and precision have different meanings
and cannot be used interchangeably.

Accuracy is the degree of closeness of a measurement to the


actual or true value.

Precision is the degree to which repeated measurements under


unchanged conditions show the same results. It also called
reproducibility or repeatability.
Accuracy vs Precision
Accurate Precise

Accurate and Precise


Accuracy vs Precision
Sources of Error
An error can be defined as the difference between the true
value, x, and approximate value, xa.
 e = x = x - x a
Observer - unpredictable

Method of measurement - unreliable experimental procedure

Object to be measured - non uniform thickness edges not well defined


Instrument - (a) may be faulty, unreliable (b) out of adjustment, not
zeroed
Types of Error
Systematic Error
 A systematic error is associated with a particular
measuring instrument or experimental technique, e.g.
using a metre rule which has the first 10 cm cut off,
making all measurements 10 cm too high.
 Finding the acceleration due to gravity of an object that
is subjected to significant air friction, or in an experiment
requiring a stable background temperature of 20ºC.

Each of these will have the effect of shifting all results by


a significant amount in the same direction, known as
the systematic error.
Systematic Error (Cont.)

Systematic error can occur due to bias in the measurement leading to


the mean of a set of measurements differing significantly from the
expected value.
It can be identified and eliminated
Resolving Systematic Error
The treatment of systematic errors is very difficult and
requires experience. The experimental technique or the
offending measuring device must be modified.

It is important to recognize the existence of a systematic


error. If all other errors have been included in the
measured uncertainty range and the accepted value
still lies out with this range then:

(a)One can say that there has been some systematic


error present in the experimental procedure or in the
equipment used, shifting all measurements too high or
too low, and (b) suggest where the systematic error may
lie.
Absolute and Relative Errors
An error can be defined as the difference between the true value, x, and
approximate value, xa.
1. e = x = x - xa
The absolute error,  , is the magnitude of the error
(2)  = | x - xa |.
The relative error,  , is the absolute error divided by the magnitude of the value. Sometimes
people divide by the magnitude of the true value.

(3)  = t = | x - xa
x | = | xa
x -1 |
Other times people divide by the magnitude of the approximate value.

(4)  = a = | x - xa
xa
| = | x
xa
-1 |
Calculations on Absolute and Relative Errors
Example 1. Suppose we measure the length of a table to be xa = 59.7 in,
but the true length is x = 59.5 in. Then the error, absolute error and two
relative errors are
e = x – xa = 59.5 – 59.7 = - 0.2 in
 = | x – xa | = | - 0.2 | = 0.2 in.
x - xa 0.2
t =  x  = 59.5 = 0.003361…. = 0.3361..%
 
x - xa 0.2
a =  x  = 59.7 = 0.003350…. = 0.3350..%
 a 
Calculations on Absolute and Relative Errors (Cont.)
It is common to express the relative error as a percent and we shall
generally do so. Also, it is common to round absolute and relative
errors up so they have only one significant digit.

 In this example, the relative error is no greater than 0.4%. In fact


errors are often simply rounded (not necessarily up) to one digit. In
this case many people would say the relative error is about 0.3%. We
shall express this symbolically by  0.3%. In general
(5) x ~< y is short for x z where z y
In Example 1 the two relative errors t and a are quite close. In general, if
one of the relative errors is small then the two are approximately equal
Estimation

A rough calculation, often using incomplete or


uncertain data, that is still close enough to
be useful

13
Estimation

Estimations are used when
 Insufficient information is available
 Available information is uncertain
 Problem is too difficult to solve analytically
 Problem is impossible to solve using
available analysis tools.

Estimations are used when
 An inexact result is useful
 A range (i.e. upper and lower bounds) is 14

useful
Estimation
Exercise:

Calculate the volume of a box to the nearest


cubic meter.

The dimensions of the box are:


W = 3.75 m
L = 1.675 m
H = 2.35 m
15
Estimation

Exercise:

Calculate the density of a material to the


nearest kg / m3.

The mass and volume of the material are:


Mass = 489.54 kg
Volume = 7.5 m3

16
Estimation

Exercise:

Determine the number of tiles, to the nearest


integer number, needed to tile a wall.

Dimensions of the tile: 4.5 in. x 4.5 in.


Dimensions of the wall: 7.5 ft. x 11 ft.

ENGR 107 - Introduction to Engineering 17


Estimation

Calculate the volume of the classroom, using


your height as a “measuring stick”.

18
Significant Digits

19
Numerical Values

For numbers less than one, a zero is written in front of
the decimal point.

A space, not a comma, is used to divide numbers of
three orders of magnitude or more.

For very large or very small numbers, use scientific
notation to reduce the unwieldy nature of these
numbers.

20
Significant Digits

A significant digit, or significant figure, is


defined as any digit used in writing a number,
except those zeros that are used only for
location of the decimal point or those zeros
that do not have any nonzero digit to their left.

21
Significant Digits

Numbers 10 or larger that are not written in scientific
notation and that are not counts (exact values) can
cause difficulties in interpretation when zeros are
present.

If uncertainty results from using standard decimal
notation, use scientific notation so that the reader
will clearly understand your intent.

22
Significant Digits

23
Significant Digits

Rounding:

Increase the last digit retained by 1 if the first


digit dropped is greater than 5.

24
Significant Digits

Multiplication and Division:

The product or quotient should contain the


same number of significant digits as the
number with the fewest significant digits.

25
Significant Digits

Addition and Subtraction:

The sum or difference should include


significant digits only as far to the right as in
the least precise number.

26
Arithmetic and Significant Digits

In calculator or computer applications it is not
practical to perform intermediate rounding (i.e.
between arithmetic operations).

It is normal practice to perform the entire calculation
and then report a reasonable number of significant
figures.
 The number of significant digits in the result cannot exceed
that in the value with the fewest significant digits.
 The result cannot be more precise than any of the values
included in the calculation. 27

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