MEASUREMENT

UNCERTAINTIES
Measurements always have some degree of
uncertainty because of unavoidable errors.

Error is the deviation of a measured value

from the expected or true value.
Uncertainty is a way of expressing this error.
measured value = (true value ± uncertainty) units
This equation shows the relationship of these factors
Accuracy refers to how close a
measurement is to the true or
accepted value.
Precision refers to how close
measurements of the same item are
to each other.
No matter how careful you are,
there is always error in a
measurement.
Error is not a “mistake” — it's part
of the measuring process.
In science, measurement error is called
experimental error or observational error.
 Random Errors
Random errors in experimental measurements are caused by
unknown and unpredictable changes in the experiment.
These changes may occur in the measuring instruments or in
the environmental conditions.
Examples of causes of random errors are:
• electronic noise in the circuit of an electrical device,
• irregular changes in the heat loss rate from a solar collector due to
changes in the wind.
These errors may be reduced by increasing the number of trials of a
measurement and averaging out the results.
 Systematic Errors
Systematic errors in experimental observations usually
come from the measuring instruments. They may
occur because:
• there is something wrong with the instrument or its
data handling system, or
• because the instrument is wrongly used by the
experimenter.
These errors limit the accuracy of the results.
 Percent Error
• Percent errors tells you how big your errors are when you measure
something in an experiment.
• Smaller percent errors mean that you are close to the accepted or
real value.
• Percent error will let you know how badly these unavoidable
errors affected your results.
The formula for percent error is:
Where:
𝒙𝑻 − 𝒙 𝑥 − measured value
𝑷𝑬 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑥𝑇 - true value
𝒙𝑻
 Percent Difference
Percent difference is practically the same as percent
error, only instead of one “true” value and one
“experimental” value, you compare two experimental
values. The formula is:
𝒙𝟏 − 𝒙𝟐
% 𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝟏
𝒙𝟏 + 𝒙𝟐
𝟐
1. The accepted distance to the moon is
238,855 miles. You measured the
distance as 249,200 miles. What is the
percent error?
2. You make two measurements in an
experiment of 20 mL and 22 mL.
What is the percent difference?
 Variance
Variance measures how far a data set is spread
out. It is mathematically defined as the average of
the squared differences from the mean.

ഥ 𝟐
෌ 𝒙−𝒙
𝟐
𝝈 =
𝑵
During an experiment in a physics laboratory
class, a group of five students was asked o
measure the period of a simple pendulum.
The group came up with the following
measurement: 2.3 s, 2.4 s. 2.2 s, and 2.1 s.
Determine the (a) mean, (b) variance, and (c)
standard deviation.
In an experiment, 10 trials were done to
determine the range of a projectile. The
measurements for the range of the projectile in
centimeters are as follows:
134.8 133.9 135.1 134.7 135.3
134.9 135.2 134.8 135.5 135.4
Determine the (a) mean, (b) variance, (c) standard
deviation, and (d) the measured range of the
projectile.
Absolute and
Relative
Uncertainties
A measurement must be represented by
two components:
(1) a numerical measured value with the
proper unit that gives the best
estimate quantity measured.
(2) the degree if uncertainty in the
measurement.
 Uncertainty
• It indicates the range of values within
which the measurement is asserted
to lie with some level of confidence.
• The degree of uncertainty may be
reported as absolute or relative.
 Absolute Uncertainty
• The absolute uncertainty (usually called absolute error -
but "error" connotes "mistake", and these are NOT
mistakes) is the size of the range of values in which the
"true value" of the measurement probably lies.
• Example: The resistance of a wire ranges from (25.00 ±
0.05) Ω. The absolute uncertainty is 0.05 Ω.
• This means that the resistance of the wire ranges from
(25.00 + 0.05) Ω to (25.00 - 0.05) Ω or from 24.95 Ω
to 25.05 Ω.
Relative or Percent Uncertainty
Relative uncertainty is the ratio of the absolute uncertainty of
a measurement to the best estimate. It expresses the relative
size of the uncertainty of a measurement (its precision).

The relative uncertainty in the resistance of the same wire is:

𝟎. 𝟎𝟓 𝛀
𝐱 𝟏𝟎𝟎 = 𝟎. 𝟐%
𝟐𝟓. 𝟎𝟎𝜴
Thus, the same resistance may be expressed as 25.00 ± 0.02%.
The absolute uncertainty of the
measurement shows how large
the error is, while its relative
uncertainty shows how large
the error in relation to the true
value.
1. The speed of an ant was measured to be ʋ = (3.05 ±
0.02) cm/s. Find the (a) absolute uncertainty, and (b)
relative uncertainty of the speed of the ant.
2. The measurement of the volume of an object is 1.53
m3 ± 2.5%. Find the absolute uncertainty.
3. The mass of an object is found to be ( 24.5 ± 0.1) g.
find the (a) absolute uncertainty. And (b) relative
uncertainty of the mass of the object.
4. The density of an object was found to be 2.7 g/cm3 ±
1.2%. What is the absolute uncertainty of the object?
During an experiment in a physics laboratory
class, a group of six students was asked to
measure the height of a cylinder. The group’s
measurement were as follows: 5.25 cm, 5.27
cm, 5.26 cm, 5.24 cm, 5.23 cm, and 5.36 cm.
What is the height of the cylinder?

Hint: Find the mean, range and uncertainty.

The following are the values obtained in
measuring the temperature of a room:
o o o o o
31.0 C, 30.5 C, 30.0 C, 31.3 C, 30.8 C,
o o
30.6 C, and 31.1 C. What is the room
temperature?
 Least Count
In Physics, the least count of a measuring
instrument is the smallest and accurate
value in the measured quantity that can be
resolved on the instrument's scale.
For example, a
sundial may only
have scale marks
representing the
hours of daylight; it
would have a least
count of one hour.
The stopwatch is more precise at measuring
time intervals than the sundial because it has
more "counts" (scale intervals) in each hour of
elapsed time.
 Ruler
Scale Least Count Calculations

Main Scale Reading = 1 cm

Number of divisions in main scale = 10
L.C. (Scale) = 1 / 10 = 0.1 cm = 1 mm
Vernier Caliper

Least Count Calculations

Main Scale Reading = 1 cm

Number of divisions in main scale = 10
Main Scale L.C. = 1 / 10 = 0.1 cm
Number of divisions in secondary scale = 50
Vernier Scale Least Count = 0.1 / 50 = 0.02 mm
Micrometer

Least Count Calculations

Main Scale Reading = 5 mm

Number of divisions in main scale = 10
Main Scale L.C. = 5 / 10 = 0.5 mm
Number of divisions in secondary scale = 50
Micrometer Least Count = 0.5 / 50 = 0.01 mm
The measurement of the thickness of a physics book is
(5.3 ± 0.1) cm.

a.What is the best estimate of the thickness of the

Physics book?
b.What is the least count of the measuring device?
c.What is the range of values of the thickness of the
book?
d.Express the thickness of the book using relative
uncertainty.
Given the data below acquired using the
Vernier caliper, solve for the area of the
cross-section of the solid cylinder.
𝟐
𝐀𝐂 = 𝚷𝐫
Main scale reading
Number of Orbs
(cm)
1 2.2 cm
2 2.3 cm
3 2.4 cm
 Calculating with Uncertainties
The following rules apply to calculations involving data with
uncertainties.
1.If the data are to be added or subtracted, add their absolute
uncertainties.
2.If the data are to be multiplied or divided, add their relative
uncertainties.
3.For a number raised to a power, fractional or not, multiply the
relative uncertainty by the power.
4.For a number to be multiplied by a constant, multiply the number and
uncertainty if it is absolute. Only the number is multiplied by the
constant if the uncertainty is relative.
The length and width of a rectangle are L = (6.5 ± 0.1) m and W = (3.4 ± 0.2)
m, respectively. Find the (a) perimeter and (b) area of the rectangle.

Given: L = 6.5 ± 0.1 m W = 3.4 ± 0.2 m

Solution:

a.Perimeter of a rectangle = sum of its sides = 2 (L + W)

= 2 [(6.5 ± 0.1) m + (3.4 ± 0.2) m]
= 2 [(9.9 ± 0.3) m]
= (19.8 ± 0.6) m
b. The are of a rectangle is equal to the product of its length (L) and
its width (W). The absolute uncertainties must be converted to
relative uncertainties. Refer to rule number 2 of calculations
involving data with uncertainties. The final answer must be
rounded off.
0.1𝑚
Relative uncertainty for length = × 100 = 𝟏. 𝟓𝟒%
6.5𝑚
0.2𝑚
Relative uncertainty for width = × 100 = 𝟓. 𝟖𝟖%
3.4𝑚
Sum of the two relative uncertainties = 1.54% + 5.88% = 7.42%

A = L x W = (6.5 m) (3.4 m) ± 7.42% = 22.1 m2 ± 7.42%

c. Compute for absolute uncertainty.

2
(7.42%)(22.1𝑚 )
absolute uncertainty =
100%
= 𝟒. 𝟔𝟒 𝐦𝟐
Therefore,

A = (22.1 ± 1.6) m2
1. The mass of a cubical object is (235.1 ± 0.1) g. if a
side of the object measures (5.25 ± 0.05) cm, what is
the density in g/cm3?
density = mass
volume
2. Find the circumference and the cross-sectional area of
a circle with radius (3.25 ± 0.01) cm.
3. A cylindrical object has a density of (2.7 ± 0.3) g/cm3.
What is the mass of this object if its radius and height
are (2.5 ± 0.1) cm and (6.75 ± 0.05) cm, respectively?