Name: Abhinav Singh Class : PHY LAB II Section: 01

Lab 1 report (31 points)

To get credit, always show your work and explain the number of significant digits you use.

1. State the number in scientific notation and write the number of significant figures in each of the
following numbers. Explain your answer. (4 points)

a. 32.840 = 3.2840 * 10^1 (significant figures = 5)

b. 0.132 = 1.32 * 10^-3 (significant figures = 3)

c. 39000. = 3.9 * 10^4 (significant figures = 3)

d. 9.71000 = 9.71 * 10^1 (significant figures = 6)

2. Perform the indicated operations to the correct number of significant figures using the
rules for significant figures. (4 points)

a. 98.21 x 1.28 = 125.7088 (same num of significant digits)

b. 23700 / 1.4715= 16106.014 (results have same number of significant digits)
c. 3.7652+23.1/1.23= 0.200 (rounding to the number with smallest decimal place)

d. 23.5602+35.2-1.54= 57.220 (rounding to the number with smallest decimal place)

To get credit, specify in each case the number of the rule you used to round your results.

3. Three students make measurements (in m) of the length of a rod using a meter stick. Each
student’s measurements are tabulated in the table below. Using your calculator in statistic
mode calculates the mean L, standard deviation S and uncertainty u of the measurements. (3 points)

Student L1 L2 L3 L4 L SD u
Student 1 1.4750 1.4759 1.4756 1.4749 1.47535 0.00048 0.00024
Student 2 1.4719 1.4725 1.4705 1.4719 1.4717 0.000849 0.000424
Student 3 1.4727 1.4718 1.4722 1.4715 1.47205 0.00052 0.00026

Note that the actual length of the rod is determined by a laser measurement technique to be.
1.4716 m (this should be considered the standard value).

a) State how one determines the accuracy of a measurement. Apply your idea to the measurements of
the three students above and state which student has the most accurate measurement. (1 point)
  The accuracy of a measurement is determined by the how low the % error, i.e low uncertainty
in measurement. From the experiment above, the most accurate measurement was done by
student 2 who had just 0.006795% error.

b) Which student has the best measurement considering both accuracy and precision?
State clearly what the characteristics are of the student’s data on which your answer is based. (1 point)

 Precision refers to the variance of the measurement from the standard value. Considering the
experiment above , student 2 has best results who has low variation from the standard value of
1.4716 and low %error (most accurate). This student doesn’t have the lowest average variation,
but combing both accuracy and precision, this student has best results.

c) Calculate the percentage error between average length obtained by student 2 and the
standard value using formula (1). (1 point)

 % error = (|obtained value – standard value| * 100 % ) / standard value

 0.006795 %

d) Calculate the percentage difference for average lengths obtained by students 1 and 3
using formula from manual. (1 point)

 Diff of mean length between 1 and 3 is = 1.47535 - 1.47205 = 0.0033

e) Do any of the three students have data that suggests the possibility of a systematic error? If so,
state which student it is, and state how the data indicates your conclusion. (1 point)

 The high accuracy (low % error) of the three students’ measurements doesn’t suggest any
systematic error in the data significantly. But one probable suspect would be student 1, who has
significantly higher % error (not in absolute terms) relative to student 2 and 3 which could
siggest a systematic error in student 1 measurement.

4. Look at the example graph provided at the end of this lab manual to see how your graph should look.
Make a graph of Force in N (on Y axis) as a function of mass in kg (on X axis). Make the graph in MS
EXCEL (or similar program, NO GRAPH PAPER or other by hand method) (6 points: labels, units,
scale, data points), perform the trend line with the trend line equation (2 point) and paste it into your
report.

Force [N] 74.20 127.5 171.3 215.3 262.1

Mass [kg] 7.870 12.47 17.58 22.98 26.49

Force (N) vs Mass (Kg)

300

250
f(x) = 9.66683891654188 x + 1.12298941668101
200
Force (N)

150

100

50

0
5 10 15 20 25 30
Mass (Kg)

5. Using the trend line equation answer the following questions.

Slope = 9.66 (1 point)

Unit = m/s2 (1 point)

Intercept = 1.123 (1 point)

Unit = N (1 point)

6. The equation that you just plotted is: F = m . a, what is the physical meaning of the slope and the
units? Explain how you get it to receive credit. (1 point)

 slope is the acceleration which is constant and increase force linearly with increase in mass.

7. Calculate the percentage error using equation (1) if the standard value is 9.90 m/s2. (1 point)
% error = (9.90 – 9.66)/9.90 * 100 = 2.42 %

8. The equation used is: resistance = voltage/current. What would be the meaning of the slope if you
plot current on Y-axis vs. voltage on X-axis?

Re-write the equation in standard form to justify your answer. (1 point)

From above eq,

volatge
Current =
resistance
If we plot, current on y-axis and voltage of x -axis, and compare against y = mx + c

1 1
Then, current = ∗voltage , where slope (m) =
resistance resistance