Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd
Upload
39 views

Error and Uncertainty Notes

Uploaded by

Syazwani Hussain
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
39 views

Error and Uncertainty Notes

Uploaded by

Syazwani Hussain
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

ERROR & UNCERTAINTY NOTES: Error exists in all experiments due to limitations of equipment and the person performing

the work. No measurement is ever exact. The last digit of a measurement is always an estimate therefore it is an uncertain value. To allow for this in experiments we represent data including the error involved and in calculations we use significant digits. Accuracy vs. Precision: Draw a representation of the relationship between accurate and precise results.

Accuracy: a measure of how close a result is to an accepted, literature value for that experiment. Measurement of Accuracy: Percent Deviation (% Error):

Precision: The measure of the certainty of a result value, usually quoted as a . In general, the more significant figures a value has, the more precise the measurement. Practice:Assume the CORRECT width of a room is 5.32000 m. 1. A measurement of 5.3 m is ________ but not ______________ 2. Several measurements with some device consistently give the width as 5.45217 m, measurements are _______ but not ______ 3. A measurement is consistently 5.32001 m: it is ______ and ______. 4. If a measurement is 7.2 m, it is _____________ and _____________ .

Random or Systematic Error? Random Makes a measurement less precise, but not in a particular direction. Affected by how precisely you can read an instrument, shown by the error representation . Repeating a reading helps lower this error Systematic Always affect a result in a particular direction and therefore affect the accuracy of equipment. Sometimes used to explain inaccurate results Practice Examples: Classify the type of error: 1. Always reading a burette when it is above eye level 2. Reading a burette to 43.6 0.05 3. Improper reading of a liquid volume at the top of the meniscus. 4. Weighing a mass of a compound before transfer to another apparatus only. 5. A steady reading a digital scale to 37.361 0.0005 Absolute Uncertainty vs. Percentage Uncertainty Absolute: Actual uncertainty in the measurement (the value) Eg. 28.5 0.05 Percentage: The absolute represented as a percentage of the measured value. Eg. [(0.05)/28] x 100 = 0.18% 28.5 0.18% Calculating With Uncertainty ADDING & SUBTRACTING: Add ABSOLUTE uncertainties MULTIPLYING & DIVIDING: Add PERCENTAGE uncertainties then convert back to absolute uncertainty to represent your answer. This applies to exponents too as they mean multiply!

You might also like