PHYS 0100

N1 PHYSICS 1
Semester I, 2018-2019
Tutorial #2
A Distinguishing between accuracy and precision
Example for class

1) Suppose two student perform an experiment to determine the value for the acceleration due to gravity, g. g is known to be
9.81 m s-2 at sea level. The students repeated the experiment several times and the value of g was calculated each time. Discuss the
accuracy and precision of the results.

Student a/ m s-2 9.80 9.82 9.83 9.81 9.82

Student b/ m s-2 8.45 8.41 8.42 8.45 8.43

Questions for tutorial

1) The table below shows three sets of results for the measurement of the diameter of a metal rod of true diameter 8.0 mm. Which sets
of results are accurate, which are precise and which are both?

Table 1 - Independent measurements of the diameter of a metal rod by three students

Student a/mm 7.3 8.6 8.5 7.2 7.9 8.1
Student b/mm 8.1 7.9 8.0 7.9 7.9 8.1
Student c/mm 7.7 7.8 7.6 7.8 7.6 7.7

2) Two student perform an experiment to determine the density of water which is known to be 1 g cm -3. The students repeat the
experiment several times and the density is recorded.
Student A/ g cm-3 0.90 0.95 0.94 0.93 0.96 0.92
-3
Student B/ g cm 1.05 1.03 0.97 0.95 1.01 0.99

Which sets of results are accurate, which are precise and which are both?

B Standard deviation and standard deviation of the mean (standard errors)

Example for class
1) Suppose you measure the oscillation period of a pendulum with a stopwatch five times and recorded your measurements in the
following table:
Trial number, i 1 2 3 4 5
Measured value, 𝑥𝑖 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.6
(seconds)

Determine the:
(i) average time for the oscillation period. The average time is also our best estimate of the oscillation period.
(ii) average deviation of the measurements from the best estimate,
(iii) the standard deviation or the width of the distribution of the measurements,
(iv) the standard deviation of the mean, and
(v) the final expression of the average time with its associated “error”.

Question for tutorial

(2) Jack and Jill ran up a hill of height 100 m five times. The time taken for them to reach the top of the hill are shown in the table
below:
Trial Jack’s time (s) Jill’s time (s)
1 80 82
2 90 93
Dr. Xsitaaz Chadee
Department of Physics, UWI, St. Augustine
Astravanam 1
 3 100 80
4 110 117
5 120 101
Average 100 95

(a) Determine the:

(i) average time that Jack and Jill take to reach to the top of the hill,
(ii) standard deviation, and
(ii) standard error in their average times.
(b) Hence, using the information in part (a), state the average times for Jack and Jill with the corresponding estimate of the error.

C Quantifying errors
Example for class

1) The best estimate of a length is 2.59 cm, but due to uncertainty, the length might be as small as 2.57 cm or as large as 2.61 cm.
Express the uncertainty in the best estimate as a:
(i) absolute uncertainty; (ii) fractional uncertainty; (iii) percentage uncertainty.
(iv) Use your answers to (i) and (iii) to state two ways in which the best estimate can be expressed.

Questions for tutorial:

1) Two students measure two objects with a meter stick. One student measures the height of a room and gets a value of 3.215 ±
0.001m (1 mm). Another student measures the height of a small cylinder and measures 0.075 ± 0.001m (1 mm).
(i) State the absolute error for the heights of the room and the cylinder.
(ii) Calculate the relative error for the two height measurements.

2) A veterinarian measures the length of a dog as L = 85 cm ± 3 cm and its mass as

m = 20 kg ± 1 kg. Which of these two measurements is more precise (i.e. has the smaller error)?

D Expressing measurements and calculations to the appropriate number of significant figures

Examples for class

1) Determine the area of a rectangle 2.1 cm by 3.24 cm.

2) Determine the volume of a cuboid of measurements 10.2 cm × 8.24 cm × 1.8 cm.
3) Calculate 20.45 ÷ 2.4.
4) Add the measurements 1370 cm, 1575 mm, 2.374 m, and 8.63 m.
5) Calculate
235.0 𝑚3
(4.00 𝑚)(12.65 𝑚) + (24.6 𝑚)2 + .
16.00 𝑚
Questions for tutorial: Express the following to the appropriate accuracy or precision:

1) 0.025 s + 0.075 s + 0.00080 s + 0.024 s

2) 2100 N + 36,800 N + 14.5 N + 470 N
3) (450 cm) (18.5 cm) (215 cm)
4)
1480 𝑐𝑚3
9.6 𝑚
5)
(25.0 𝑘𝑔)(1.20 𝑚/𝑠)2
3.70 𝑚
6) Find the area of a rectangle that is 4.50 m long and 2.20 m wide.
7) Determine the volume of a rectangular box 9.0 cm long, 6.0 cm wide, and 13 cm high.

Dr. Xsitaaz Chadee

Department of Physics, UWI, St. Augustine
Astravanam 2