Last Rev.: 11 JUN 08 Kline-McClintock Uncertainty : MIME 3!

0 "a#e 1
KLINE-MCCLINTOCK
1
METHOD
(EXPERIMENTAL UNCERTAINTY)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first thing the student must be aware of is that this procedure
does not calculate an error; instead, it states what the possible error
the uncertaintyis in a final result based on experimental
measurements or a tolerance in fabrication.
So what causes the uncertainty? Basically, it is due to the
coarseness of measuring tools. A simple sixinch scale graduated
in increments of !." inches can only be read accurately to the
nearest !." of an inch. The uncertainty is ta#en as one half of a
graduation or !.!$ inches. An alternate dimensional uncertainty is
a tolerance as used in drawing of machine parts. %f a dimension is
&mm t !."mm, then the !."mm is the uncertainty in the dimension.
The 'line(c)lintoc# (ethod determines the uncertainty of a
calculation gi*en certain measurements and the tolerances on those
measurements. To exemplify how this method wor#s, assume one
is to determine the *olume of a cube containing a cylindrical hole
+see the figure below,.
To ma#e this a simple explanation of the procedure, assume that L
- L" - L.- L/. The *olume, ideally, would then be0
L
D
L V
.
/
.

,
_

(A.1)
%f one measures D and L with measurements
% .
.
" . "
% .
.
" . "
/// / "!!
/
" !
" ! /
!!! 1 "!!
$
. !
. ! $

,
_

t

,
_

t
D
L
what is the anticipated possible error +either positi*e or negati*e,
when the *olume is calculated using 23uation A."? %n general, if n
measurements xn are being made, each with a measurement
tolerance of n, and a function F is calculated using the measured
*alues, then the uncertainty or tolerance in the calculation can be
determined as0
( ) ( )
. 4 "
.
.
.
.
.
"
.
"
1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

t
dx
dF
dx
dF
F .
5or the proposed example,
D x
L x
L
D
L V F

,
_

.
"
.
/
.

" !
. !
"
"
.
.


"
Kline, . !., "n# $. A. M%Clin&'%(. 67escribing 8ncertainties in
SingleSample 2xperiments.9 Mechanical Engineering, :ol. ;$, <o. ", =anuary
">$/0 /&.
and the uncertainty is calculated as0
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]
[ ] . ;&>" . "/ $$"? . $ $&;! . "&1
" . ! $?"> . ./ . . ! >/"1 . ?;
" . ! $ /
.
. . !
.
/
$ /
1
.
.
/
/ . 4 "
. 4 "
. . . .
. 4 "
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 4 "
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 4 "
.
.
.
.
in
L
D D
L
dD
dV
dL
dV
V
D L
D L
t +
+
1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

,
_

1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

,
_

1
1
]
1

,
_

+
,
_

t
T)i* +"l,e i* n'& " -e.%en&/
The ideal *olume calculation is
( )
. . .
/
.
/
.
/
?$;" &> /1.> /$ ".$
$
.
/
$
.
in
L
D
L V

,
_

,
_

Thus, one could ha*e a percent error as large as
% ./& "$ "!!
&>.?$;"
"/.;&>"
t
,
_

t
e*en though the errors in indi*idual measurements are less than 1@.
D
"
L
.
L
/
L
Last Rev.: 11 JUN 08 Kline-McClintock Uncertainty : MIME 3!0 "a#e $