Measuring Uncertainty Flashcards
How to calculate the uncertainty for a piece of equipment?
The uncertainty of a measuring instrument is estimated as plus or minus (±) half the smallest scale division. For a thermometer with a mark at every 1.0°C, the uncertainty is ± 0.5°C. This means that if a student reads a value from this thermometer as 24.0°C, they could give the result as 24.0°C ± 0.5°C.
For a digital measuring instrument, the uncertainty is half the last digit shown on its display. For a timer reading to 0.1 s, the uncertainty is ± 0.05 s.
How to calculate uncertainty from sets of repeat measurements?
For a set of repeat measurements, the uncertainty is ± half the range. This means that the value can be given as the mean value ± half the range.
(Calculate the mean then find the uncertainty of that)
On a graph, how do you show the uncertainty.
Plot the line of the measurement and then plot the uncertainty above and below all of the points and then draw a straight line between the two points
