Sherman Bok

PC1221 Lab 01 Simple Measurements Summary

1 Introduction
No measurement, no matter how accurate, would be without error or uncertainty. There are two types of error, systematic error and random error. Systematic error is always in the same magnitude and direction of a particular measurement and usually caused by the imperfect calibration of instruments. Random error will always be present in any measurement and have values of different magnitude and signs. Errors and uncertainties provide a method of determining the precision and accuracy of measurement through the use of percentage uncertainty and percentage discrepancy respectively. Precision is a measure of the closeness between experimental data and their data mean while accuracy is a measure of closeness between experimental data and the true or accepted result. This lab will cover a series of experiments to explore the usage of the above principles. The simple pendulum can be approximated with the model of a simple harmonic motion when the amplitude of the oscillation is small. It is also assumed that air resistance and drag on the pendulum swing is negligible. The period T, of a pendulum can therefore be approximated to , where L and g is the length of the pendulum and gravitational acceleration respectively.

Additionally, is a mathematical constant with many uses although in our experiment, we will focus on the proportionality of the circumference C and diameter d of a circle, where C d and C = d as a result. The experiment consists of two parts. Part A measures the gravitational acceleration in Singapore based on two different procedures and comparing the accuracy and preciseness of both results. The first procedure employs the use of for the

oscillation of a pendulum to calculate g, while the other simply uses the ratio of the weight and mass of an object to calculate g based on the formula W = mg derived from Newtons Second Law. The second part, Part B, of the experiment focuses on the estimation of the true value for the proportionality constant . The experimental value for was then determined by statistically comparing the circumferences and diameters of circles.

2 Methodology
For part A, a metallic ball bearing was suspended onto a retort stand by a string, forming a simple pendulum. Ten repeated independent measurements of the weight, mass and diameter of the ball bearing, the length of the pendulum and the time taken for the pendulum to complete ten swings were taken. The weight and mass of the ball bearing was measured using a digital balance, and zeroing the instrument before each independent measurement was ensured. The diameter of the ball bearing was measured using a digital vernier caliper and zeroing was similarly ensured. The length of the pendulum (from the pivot to the estimated center of mass of the ball bearing) was measured by reading two values off a measuring tape, and then finding the values difference to obtain the pendulum length. Lastly, the period of oscillation for the pendulum was calculated by measuring the average time for ten swings to obtain a better estimate of the period using a stopwatch. The pendulum should be swung at a small angle for the hold as well as to reduce air resistance and drag. For part B, a template containing six circles of different sizes was provided. The circumferences of the circles were then measured and recorded using a string by measuring around the perimeter of the circle. A measuring tape was then used to determine the diameter of each circle. Five repeated independent measurement of circumference and diameter for each circle was made to better the estimation. equation to

Sherman Bok
3 Results

PC1221 Lab 01 Simple Measurements Summary

Data Table 1 displays ten independent measurements each for the period T and length L of a pendulum. The smaller tables provide the mean and uncertainty (standard error) of T and L. The computed results are T = 1.171 0.004 cm and L = 34.4 0.02 cm. The relationship between gravitational acceleration, T and L is given by the formula finding the gravitational acceleration g1 can be calculated by rearranging the above formula: , therefore 9.90 0.07 m/s2 . The first procedure of

Data table 1 also reflects the weight W and mass m of the ball bearing of the pendulum. The gravitational acceleration g 2 is then calculated using a different formula, W = mg, where W = 0.33311 .00001 N and m = 0.0339679 0.0000001 kg. By rearranging W = mg, , therefore 9.8066 0.0003 m/s2

Data table 2 contains the measurements taken in Part B. The relationship between circumference C and diameter d is that they are directly proportional, with a proportionality constant of . Therefore, C = d. An equation of form y = mx + c of gradient m and y-intercept c is then used to estimate , where the gradient m = . Graph 1 displays a plot of C versus d, where the values of C and d used are the average values of the five measurements of circumference and diameter for each circle. Graph 1 also shows the line resulting from the method of least squares whereby estimated = m = 3.12 0.02.

4 Discussion
For part A, the accepted result for acceleration due to gravity in Singapore is 9.7804m/s 2. In relation, the calculated values for g1 and g2 have a percentage discrepancy of 1.25% and 0.268% respectively in comparison to the true value of gravity stated. Although the values of g1 and g2 cannot to be said to be equal to the true value of gravity as their ranges inclusive of uncertainty do not coincide, both have a very small percentage discrepancy. This means that both g 1 and g2 are very close to the accepted value. Notably, g2 is much closer to the true value than g1, with a 5 times smaller percentage discrepancy. Therefore, both g1 and g2 are accurate attempts in calculating g, with g2 being more accurate. Results for part A could also be said to be consistent, as both g1 and g2 have high precisions with a measured uncertainty of 0.07m/s2 and 0.0003m/s2 and percentage uncertainty of 0.665% and 0.00302% respectively. These could be attributed to the small standard deviations of values taken for the mass, weight, length, diameter and period of the pendulum. Although so, g2 has a higher precision than g1 with a smaller percentage uncertainty of about 220 times. A cause for the greater precision and accuracy g2 at the same time could be due to the fact that digital balances measure mass, and the weight calculated are only mere multiplications of the mass by the gravitational constant, which have been predefined within the balance. Moreover, the repeated readings for mass and weight are mostly equal, which could be due to the inability of the digital balance in measuring these values to a greater degree of precision. A more precise balance would be preferred and could be a solution to this source of error. For part B, the estimated value of was based on the gradient of the line of best fit which has a coefficient of determination of 0.9998. A coefficient of determination of 1 means a perfect linear correlation. In comparison, this indicates very highly positively linear correlation between the experimental data and in turn indicates that the data collected is very precise. The experimental value of could also be said to be accurate as its range, inclusive of uncertainty, coincides with that of the true value of , where the true value = 3.14159265. Moreover, the experimental result only has a small percentage discrepancy of 0547% in comparison to the accepted value.

Sherman Bok

PC1221 Lab 01 Simple Measurements Summary

There are a few sources of error in the experiment. In calculating g1, it should be ensured that the length of the pendulum is based on the length from the pivot to the ball bearings center of mass instead of simply measuring the length of the string. Not doing so would result in a higher calculated g1since g1 L. Moreover, the amplitude of oscillation should be kept small as a large amplitude would not allow the approximation of , where . This will instead result in a smaller estimated g 1 since

is the amplitude of oscillation. The solution is to ensure accuracy by keeping the

amplitude small and precision by using a protractor to keep amplitude constant. In addition, there may be a source of human error in the form of the reaction time when calculating the period of the pendulum. Although this could be reduced by taking the average of 10 swings, it would better to start the pendulum swinging a few periods first before starting to measure the 10 swings. A greater alternative would be to use a photogate timer to track every instant the pendulum swings to its maximum point to reduce the systematic uncertainty caused by human error and to increase length of the pendulum thereby decreasing the period and reducing overall percentage uncertainty for the period with a larger period. Lastly, it is important to ensure that the retort stand holding the pendulum is stable and horizontal (not tilted), as well as ensuring the pivot is tight (not loose) and oscillation is unhindered (low friction). The environment should also be free of draft. All these could contribute to an instability in the pendulum swing and hence an incorrect measurement of the period. For g2, the mass and weight of the ball bearing should be measured separately and independently. This could be done by removing the ball bearing after every single measurement. In addition, this could be improved by waiting for the readings to stop fluctuating before recording and to ensure a draft-free room. Moreover, if one measures the ball bearing together with the string, it should be ensured that every part of the string and the ball bearing lies within the plate of the balance or readings would be lesser than expected. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, digital balances are capable of measuring only mass. Weight calculated depends on predefined values and in this case, it is given by g2 = 9.8066 0.0003 m/s2. This is a source of error as it is not only predefined, but also because this value of g is the standard average and not that of Singapores. Singapore is located at the equator, thus giving rise to a lower accepted value of 9.7804m/s 2. Objects at the equator experience a greater centripetal acceleration than at the poles due to the greater radius with reference to the axis of rotation (a = r 2). Therefore, the apparent g is smaller as part of it is experienced as the centripetal force instead of weight.

Lastly, in the estimation of , a source of error would be that the edges of the printed circles are jagged and this would result in a greater than expected value for the circumference and hence . An alternative route would be to print the circles under a higher resolution or to create even larger circles so that the percentage uncertainty caused by the low resolution would be lowered over a larger circumference. Besides, it is also difficult to measure the diameter of the circle using a measuring tape as it requires measuring the maximum width of a circle and would lean to smaller than expected diameters. Instead, we could use the circles template as a lamina and hang the template with the pivot on any point in the circumference. Draw a vertical line from the pivot and repeat at a different point. The lines would coincide with the circles center.

5 Conclusion
The value for the gravitational acceleration g could be estimated to be 9.8066 0.0003 m/s2, taking results from the second procedure of part A, as it is both more precise and accurate, and it compares favorably to the true value of 9.7804m/s 2. The value for the mathematical constant pi () could be determined to be 3.12 0.02, whose range coincides with the true value of at 3.14159265 thus exhibiting its high accuracy and its high precision could be seen with its low uncertainty and percentage uncertainty.