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EXPERIMENT 1: Measurement and Error Analysis

This experiment (three parts) will allow you to practice taking basic measurements and working
with the uncertainties in those measurements. You will need to refer to the first section of the
Lab Quick Sheets for propagating uncertainties through calculations.

Experiment 1.A: Measuring the Density of Two Cylinders

The density of a substance is defined as its mass per unit volume. Density is usually represented
by the Greek letter ρ (rho):

ρ=mass/ volume=m/V

Procedure: For this exercise, you are given two cylinders of unknown composition. Their
respective volumes can be determined from measurements of the cylinders’ lengths and
diameters. Use a ruler to measure these quantities and record them on the worksheet. Be sure
to record the uncertainty in each of your measurements.
 Recall that the reading uncertainty in a measurement using any physical scale is half of
the smallest scale division that you can read on the measuring instrument. When using a
ruler, you make two measurements so the reading uncertainty is twice the uncertainty
of a single measurement.
 Use the electronic balance to obtain the mass of the cylinders and record your results
on the worksheet. The uncertainty in a measurement using a digital instrument is ± one
of the smallest unit displayed on the readout.

Data: Record your measurements with the proper uncertainties in Table 1.1.

Analysis: Calculate the volumes and densities of the cylinders along with the uncertainties
in the measurements. Compare your experimental values of the density of the cylinders with
the accepted values of the density of the various materials give in Table 1.3. Use the overlap
test to confirm any result. The overlap test states that any two values A and B are equal within
the limits of their experimental errors if their difference is less than or equal to the sum of their
uncertainties.

Overlap test: |ρexperimental – ρaccepted| ≤ (δρexperiemental + δρaccepted)

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Conclusion: Based on your analysis using the overlap test to compare your calculated
densities with those in Table 1.3, provide a brief statement summarizing what you determined
during this exercise.
Experiment 1.B: Reaction Time and Error Analysis

In this exercise, you will use a ruler to measure your reaction time. Your partner will hold the
ruler vertically with the “0 cm” mark just above your fingers and release it with no warning.
You will try to close your fingers as quickly as possible to catch the falling ruler. You can then
use the distance the ruler falls before you catch it to calculate how long it takes you to react
to the motion and close your fingers to stop the falling ruler.

Procedure: 1. One person holds the ruler vertically and the other person places their hand at
the bottom of the ruler.

2. The person holding the ruler will drop it without warning and the other
person will try to catch it as quickly as possible.

3. Record the location on the ruler where your fingers caught the ruler. Perform
10 trials and record the results.

4. Switch places and repeat the procedure for the other lab partner.

Data: Record your measurements in Table 2.1.

Analysis: There are at least two sources of uncertainty in your distance measurement:
uncertainty caused by your inability to see exactly where on the ruler your fingers catch the
ruler, and uncertainty caused by random variation in each trial. Following the steps outlined on
the worksheet, find and compare the uncertainties. Then, you can use you measurement of the
drop distance to calculate your reaction time using the equation for the time it takes for an
object to fall a known distance:

time[s ]=
√ 2 ×distance [m]
9.81 m/s
2
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EXPERIMENT 1.C: Measuring the Speed of Sound

The objective of this lab is to accurately measure the speed of sound in air. You will use a
microphone, a LabQuest lab interface, and a computer to record a sound pulse and its echo in a
tube and use this recording to find the speed of the pulse as it travels down the tube and back.

Compared to most objects, sound waves travel very fast – fast enough that measuring the
speed of sound accurately is a technical challenge. One method is to time an echo. For example,
if you were in an open field with a large building 100 meters away, you could start a stopwatch
when a loud noise was made and stop it when you heard the echo. You could then calculate the
speed of sound using v=d /t . Although this would work, it is not very practical and is subject to
random errors due to reaction time and interference from other sounds.

To use an echo to measure the speed of sound over short distances in the lab we need a more
precise timing system. We’ll use a microphone connected to the LabQuest to record sound
during a short time interval. The microphone will be placed next to the opening of a hollow
tube. When you make a sound by snapping your fingers next to the opening, the LabQuest will
begin collecting data. After the sound reflects off the opposite end of the tube, the microphone
will record the echo. You will use LoggerPro to graph the amplitude of the sound to determine
the time interval between. From this graph, you will then be able to determine the round trip
time and use this along with the length of the tube to calculate the speed of sound.

Procedure: First, you must use LoggerPro to set the LabQuest to begin recording sound
when it senses your finger snap and to record for a short time interval until the reflection
returns. This may have already been setup for you by the previous group, but you should run
through the steps anyways.

1. Open the LoggerPro.

2. Connect the microphone to input 1 of the LabQuest and connect the LabQuest to the
computer.

3. Click the data collection button to open the data collection window.
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4. Change the Duration to .10 seconds and the Sampling Rate to 50,000 samples/second.

5. Click on the Triggering tab and check the Triggering box.

6. Choose On Sensor Value, select Increasing across 0.05.

7. Close the Data Collection window.

8. Press CTRL + 0 to zero the microphone. The LabQuest is now set for you to begin measuring
the time it takes for a sound pulse to travel down the tube and back.

Here’s how to collect data:

1. Measure the length of the tube in meters and record below. Include an estimate of the
uncertainty of your measurement.

2. Set the microphone directly in front of the opening of the tube.

3. Have one person operate LoggerPro while the other person holds the microphone.

4. Press the collect button to begin recording data.

5. Snap your fingers near the microphone. Notice that LoggerPro

immediately records and graphs the sound wave. The graph Elapsed time
should show a distinct pulse from the finger snap and a distinct
echo. It takes some practice to get the snap just right. Keep
trying until you get a graph that looks like the one at right.
Initial Echo
pulse pulse
6. Use the Examine (CTRL + E) tool to find the elapsed time
between the initial sound and the reflected sound. Click on the
graph at the beginning of the initial pulse and drag right to the beginning of the echo pulse.
The elapsed time shows in the lower left of the graph.

7. Record this time in the table below. Repeat 10 times and complete the calculations in the
next section.
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Worksheet for Experiment 1.A

1. Measure the length, diameter and mass of each cylinder. Be sure to include
the units of measurement (inside the parentheses) and the measurement
uncertainty (after the ± symbol) in each column header.

Table 1.1: Measured properties of the cylinders

Length (_________) Diameter (________) Mass (_________)
± _________ ± _________ ± _________
Cylinder 1

Cylinder 2

2. Convert the measurements to meters and kilograms. Convert the diameters

to radii.

Table 1.2: Measured properties of the cylinders in MKS units

Length (_________) Radius (________) Mass (_________)

± _________ ± _________ ± _________
Cylinder 1

Cylinder 2

3. Calculate the volume V of the cylinders in m3. Calculate the uncertainty in the
volume δV using the appropriate calculations for the propagation of
uncertainties. Include your calculations.

Calculate the volume of each cylinder

2
V =π r l
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Calculate the uncertainty in the volume of each cylinder

Given that V =π r 2 l, there are three steps for calculating δV .

Operation Equation for uncertainty

2
δr δr
Power r
2 =2
|r | |r|
2

2
δ(r l) δ r 2 δl
Multiplication: (r ¿¿ 2)× l¿ = +
|r 2 l| |r 2| |l|
Multiplication by a constant: π ×(r ¿¿ 2l)¿ δV =πδ (r ¿¿ 2l)¿

Combining all three steps, we get:

δV =π |r l| 2
2
( δr δl
+
|r| |l| )

Volume of cylinder 1: V 1 ± δ V 1=¿ _________________________________

Volume of cylinder 2: V 2 ± δ V 2=¿ _________________________________

4. Calculate the densities ρ of the cylinders in kg/m3. Calculate the uncertainty in

the densities δρ using the appropriate calculations for the propagation of
uncertainties. Include your calculations.

Calculate the density of each cylinder

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ρ=m/V

Calculate the uncertainty in the density of each cylinder

Given, that ρ=m/V , show the necessary steps for calculating δρ .

Density of cylinder 1: ρ1 ± δ ρ1=¿ _________________________________

Density of cylinder 2: ρ2 ± δ ρ2=¿ _________________________________

Table 1.3: Densities of some common materials

Material Density (kg/m3) Material Density (kg/m3)
Delrin 1410 ± 10 Zinc 7100 ± 40
Magnesium 1770 ± 20 Tin 7220 ± 30
Beryllium 1850 ± 20 Steel 7800 ± 70
Teflon 2170 ± 20 Brass 8600 ± 100
Aluminum 2700 ± 30 Copper 8900 ± 50
Titanium 4480 ± 10 Silver 10500 ± 40
Antimony 6680 ± 20 Lead 11300 ± 30

5. Compare your experimental values of the density of the cylinders with the
accepted values of the density of the various materials give in Table 1.3 using
the overlap test.
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6. Provide a brief statement summarizing your results based on your analysis.

Worksheet for Experiment 1.B

Table 2.1: Drop Distances

Partner 1 Partner 2
Trial
d1 (cm) d2 (cm)
1
2
3
4
5
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6
7
8
9
10
Average

1. Estimate the uncertainty of your distance measurements based on the uncertainty of the
position of your fingers on the ruler. That is, what is the maximum amount do you think
your distance measurements could be off due to your inability to see exactly where your
fingers stopped the ruler?
Partner 1: δ d 1, a =¿ ¿ Partner 2: δ d 2 ,a =¿ ¿

2. Determine the uncertainty in your measurements cause by random variation in each trial.
That is, use the statistical analysis of small data sets section on the Lab Quick Sheets to
calculate the uncertainty in the mean for both sets of data. Include your calculations.

Partner 1: δ d 1, b =¿ ¿ Partner 2: δ d 2 ,b =¿ ¿

3. Express, in meters, your average distance measurement including the uncertainty in the
quantity found by adding the two sources of uncertainty δ d a and δ d b. Include your
calculations.

Partner 1: d 1 ± δ d 1=¿ ¿

Partner 2: d 2 ± δ d 2=¿ ¿
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4. Your reaction time can be calculated using the following equation:

t=
√ 2d
9.81m/ s2
Write out an equation for finding δt using the rules for calculating uncertainties in
derived quantities. You can treat 9.81 m/s 2 as a constant with no uncertainty.
Calculate the uncertainty in the reaction time for each partner.

5. Calculate the reaction time for each partner.

Partner 1: t ± δt =¿ ¿

Partner 2: t ± δt =¿ ¿

The average reaction time for a young adult to respond to a visual stimulus is 0.20 ± 0.025 s.
For each partner, draw an axis for time by (like the axis on a graph but only in one
dimension). On each line, compare your reaction time with the average young adult
reaction time by plotting the reactions times with error bars representing the uncertainties
in the measurements.Partner 1:
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Partner 2:

6. Based on the above comparison, are your reaction times faster, slower or the same as the
average reaction time?

7. Use the overlap test to compare your reaction times with the average young adult reaction
time. Based on the comparison, are your reaction times faster, slower or the same as the
average reaction time?

Worksheet for Experiment 1.C

Table 3.1: Elapsed Time

Time
Trial
(s)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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1. Calculate the average elapsed time for the sound to make a round-trip in the tube. Again,
you will use the statistical analysis of small data sets section on the Lab Quick Sheets to
calculate the uncertainty in the mean of your measurements.

Average time for sound to make round-trip: ________________ ± ________ s

2. Record the length of the tube and the air temperature in the room.

Length of tube: L =________________ ± ________ m

Air temperature in lab: T = ________________ ± ________°C

3. Use the equation v=d /t to calculate the speed of sound in the pipe. Write out an equation
for finding δv using the rules for calculating uncertainties in derived quantities. Include the
calculation of the uncertainty in the speed of sound.

v experimental=¿ ________________ ± ________ m/s

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4. Calculate the accepted value for speed of sound at room temperature using the following
equation:

v accepted =331m/ s+0.60 T =¿ ¿

5. Does your measured value match the accepted value within your range of uncertainty?
What conclusions can you reach based on this answer?