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GENERAL PHYSICS 1

Activity Title: Physical Quantities & Errors Activity No.: 1.1

Learning Competency:
1. Solve measurement problems involving conversion of units, expression of
measurements in scientific notation.
2. Differentiate accuracy from precision.
3. Differentiate random errors from systematic errors.
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Units like kilogram, meter, second and liter are important in measurement. Using the right
measuring tool will help you concretize your data. But what if a tool you want to use is unavailable?
Will conversion of units be useful?

Sample:

The sun’s distance from the Earth is 149,600,000 kilometers. How far is this in miles?

I’m Sheila, a registered Medical Technologist, from the nearby hospital.

Part of my job is swabbing and examining if the Covid-19 suspect is positive
or not. This means I should report the result of the test accurately and precisely.

Say for example, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is measured in nanometers 4

times with the values: 140.0, 139.5, 138.7 and 141.5. Getting the average or
mean is knowing its accuracy.

The virus’ diameter ranges from 50 nm to 140 nm. How close is our mean to the actual or
exact value? How precise is it?

Accuracy is how close a data is to the true or accepted value. Precision is how close data
are from each other.

Reference:
Gadong, Rarly Sol & Raphael Bellez (2015). General Physics 1. Vibal Group, Inc.
Prepared by LEONARDO G. PIGA, JR. Page 1 of 4
 Scientists express uncertainty and error in measurement by giving a percent error. The
percent error can be calculated by using

The actual value is the true value coming from books/reference. The measured value is the
computation or experimentation.

Sample:
After measuring, a student found the density of a piece of pure aluminum to be 2.85 g/cm 3
but the accepted value should be 2.70 g/cm3. What was the student’s percent error?

Like mistakes, measurement meets error. Two types of measurement errors are:

Random error Systematic error

happens when…
changes in the experiment experiment is faulty or tool is NOT used
or environment CANNOT be avoided correctly

Examples are
• ruler can measure only up to this point • battery of speed watch is old that
means the clock will run slowly
• wind affects your weighing scale • the weighing scale is not zero
To minimize
-increase sample size from 5 to 30 or 500 to -check the equipment or tool before using
1200

-measure NOT ONLY once but thrice then get

the average

Let us see if you can identify the error in this situation.

The measuring tape that a tailor uses has been stretched from years of use. His
measurements are sometimes too small or too large.

Error: Systematic error How to correct the error? Change the measuring tape

Reference:
Gadong, Rarly Sol & Raphael Bellez (2015). General Physics 1. Vibal Group, Inc.
Prepared by LEONARDO G. PIGA, JR. Page 2 of 4
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GENERAL PHYSICS 1

Name: Grade & Section:

Activity Title:Physical Quantities Date:
Activity No.: 1.1a
Learning Target:
1. Convert units and express measurements in scientific notation.
2. Solve and determine the accuracy and precision of data.
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DIRECTIONS: Solve the problems below and express final answer in scientific notation.

1. In a full ironman triathlon, Matteo swam for 2.5 miles. How far is this in kilometers?

2. Biking comes next for 120 miles where Matteo travelled 34.39 km/h. What is his speed in
meters per second if the organizers wanted to get such data.

3. At the end of the course, Matteo ran 140.6 miles. How far is this in kilometers?

DIRECTIONS: Look at each target and decide if the “hits” accurate, precise, both accurate and
precise, or neither accurate nor precise. Remember, an accurate “hit” is a bully’s eye!
Encircle your answer.

Is it accurate? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

Is it precise? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

DIRECTIONS: Given the data of extracted tumors from cancer patients, solve for the mean, range
and determine its accuracy and precision level.

1. Patient A

2.65 cm 2.80 cm 2.65 cm 2.75 cm 2.77 cm 2.68 cm

2. Patient B

2.70 cm 2.75 cm 2.65 cm 2.80 cm 2.62 cm 2.79 cm 2.78 cm

Reference:
Gadong, Rarly Sol & Raphael Bellez (2015). General Physics 1. Vibal Group, Inc.
Prepared by LEONARDO G. PIGA, JR. Page 3 of 4
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GENERAL PHYSICS 1

Name: Grade & Section:

Activity Title: Errors Activity No.: 1.1b
Learning Target:
1. Solve for the percent error.
2. Determine the type of error, causes and correction to be made.
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DIRECTIONS: Solve for the percent error in the situations below.

1. A student took a calibrated 200.0-gram mass, weighed it on a laboratory balance, and found
it read 196.5 g. What was the student’s percent error?

2. A student measured the specific heat of water to be 4.29 J/g. 0C. The literature value of the
specific heat of water is 4.18 J/g.0C. What was the student’s percent error?

DIRECTIONS: Fill in the matrix below with the needed information.

TYPE OF CAUSE OF
SITUATION CORRECTION
ERROR ERROR
Marge, Norma, Orly and
Pura measured the
oscillation of a
pendulum. Each of them
had different time
readings.

Minda collected 45 mL
of a saline solution. The
amount she got when
she used a beaker,
graduated cylinder and a
buret differed from each
other.

The pawnshop attendant

forgot to calibrate the
weighing balance. She
gave an incorrect
measure of the amount
of gold in a necklace.

Reference:
Gadong, Rarly Sol & Raphael Bellez (2015). General Physics 1. Vibal Group, Inc.
Prepared by LEONARDO G. PIGA, JR. Page 4 of 4