Uncertainties in Data and Results

Each measurement possesses an uncertainty, an error. Moreover, an error is an inevitable

part of the measurement and has to be given along with the value itself. Proper evaluation
of errors (and sometime their elimination) represents quality of your measurements.
Generally, errors can be divided into two broad and rough but useful classes:
systematic and random
Systematic errors tend to shift all measurements in a systematic way so that their mean
value is displaced. This may be due to incorrect calibration of equipment, failure to account
for some effect etc. Systematic errors can and must be eliminated in a good experiment,
but small systematic errors will always be present. For instance, no instrument can ever be
calibrated perfectly.
Random errors are errors which fluctuate from one measurement to the next. They yield
results distributed about some mean value. They can occur for a variety of reasons.
• They may occur due to lack of sensitivity. For a sufficiently a small change an
instrument may not be able to respond to it or to indicate it or the observer may not
be able to discern it.
• They may occur due to noise. There may be extraneous disturbances which cannot
be taken into account.
• They may be due to imprecise definition.
• They may also occur due to statistical processes such as the roll of dice.
Random errors displace measurements in an arbitrary direction whereas systematic errors
displace measurements in a single direction. Some systematic error can be substantially
eliminated (or properly taken into account). Random errors are unavoidable and must be
lived with.
Calculating Experimental Error:
When a scientist reports the results of an experiment, the report must describe the accuracy
and precision of the experimental measurements. Some common ways to describe accuracy
and precision are described below.

Figure 1. Accuracy and Precision

• Mean and Standard Deviation

When a measurement is repeated several times, we see the measured values are grouped
around some central value. This grouping or distribution can be described with two
numbers: the mean, which measures the central value, and the standard deviation which
describes the spread or deviation of the measured values about the mean For a set of N

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measured values for some quantity x, the mean of x is represented by the symbol <x> and
is calculated by the following formula:

where xi is the i-th measured value of x. The mean is simply the sum of the measured values
divided by the number of measured values. The standard deviation of the measured values
is represented by the symbol σx and is given by the formula:

The standard deviation is sometimes referred to as the “mean square deviation” and
measures how widely spread the measured values are on either side of the mean. The
meaning of the standard deviation can be seen from Figure 2, which is a plot of data with
a mean of 0.5. SD represents the standard deviation. As seen in Figure 2, the larger the
standard deviation, the more widely spread the data is about the mean. For measurements
which have only random errors, the standard deviation means that 68% of the measured
values are within σx from the mean, 95% are within 2σx from mean, and 99% are within
3σx from the mean.

Figure 2: Measured Values of x

• Significant Figures:

The least significant digit in a measurement depends on the smallest unit which can be
measured using the measuring instrument. The precision of a measurement can then be
estimated by the number of significant digits with which the measurement is reported. In

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general, any measurement is reported to a precision equal to 1/10 of the smallest graduation
on the measuring instrument, and the precision of the measurement is said to be 1/10 of the
smallest graduation. For example, a measurement of length using a meterstick with 1-mm
graduations will be reported with a precision of ±0.1 mm. A measurement of volume using
a graduated cylinder with 1-ml graduations will be reported with a precision of ±0.1 ml.
Digital instruments are treated differently. Unless the instrument manufacturer indicates
otherwise, the precision of measurement made with digital instruments are reported with a
precision of ±½ of the smallest unit of the instrument. For example, a digital voltmeter
reads 1.493 volts; the precision of the voltage measurement is ±½ of 0.001 volts or ±0.0005
volt.

• Percent Error:

Percent error (sometimes referred to as fractional difference) measures the accuracy of a

measurement by the difference between a measured or experimental value E (that can be
considered as the average value of the measurements) and a true or accepted value A. The
percent error is calculated from the following equation:

• Percent Difference:

Percent difference measures precision of two measurements by the difference between the
measured or experimental values E1 and E2 (these can be considered as the average values
of the measurements) expressed as a fraction the average of the two values. The equation
to use to calculate the percent difference is:

Reporting the Results of an Experimental Measurement

When a scientist reports the result of an experimental measurement of a quantity x, that
result is reported with two parts. First, the best estimate of the measurement is reported.
The best estimate of a set of measurement is usually reported as the mean of the
measurements. Second, the variation of the measurements is reported. The variation in the
measurements is usually reported by the standard deviation σx of the measurements. The
measured quantity is then known have a best estimate equal to the average, but it may also
vary from +σx to −σx. Any experimental measurement should then be reported in the
following form: x = <x> ± σx

Experiment:
Ask the students to measure the mass of 1ml water 30 times using at least two different
apparatus (for example: graduated cylinder and pipet).
Draw the histogram (excel), write the reported measurement and discuss your results.

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References:
• Garland, Nibler and Shoemaker; Experiments in Physical Chemistry, 7th edition.
McGraw-Hill, 2003, Chapters II, III and XXII
• W.R.Hamming, Numerical Methods for Scientists and Engineers, 2d ed., pp.
567-573, 597-599, Dover, New Your, 1987

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 Report: Uncertainties in Data and Results
Use extra sheets if needed

Name: Date:

Results
Table 1. Weight of 10 ml Water using different apparatus (GC = Graduated Cylinder,
V(G)P = volumetric or Graduated Pipet, TB = Top loading Balance and AB = Analytical
Balance, Av. = Average).
# GC/TB GC/AB V(G)P/TB V(G)P/AB # GC/TB GC/AB V(G)P/TB V(G)P/AB
1 16
2 17
3 18
4 19
5 20
6 21
7 22
8 23
9 24
10 25
11 26
12 27
13 28
14 29
15 30
Av.

Average values of water’s weight:

1. <GC/TB>: ___________________________ 𝜎𝑥 =

2. <GC/AB>: ___________________________ 𝜎𝑥 =

3. <V(G)P/TB>: ___________________________ 𝜎𝑥 =

4. <V(G)P/AB>: ___________________________ 𝜎𝑥 =

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If the accepted weight of 10 ml water is 10.0 g, what is the %error for each measurement:
1. GC/TB: ___________________________

2. GC/AB: ___________________________

3. V(G)P/TB: ___________________________

4. V(G)P/AB: __________________________
The %Difference depending on the average values are:
1. GC/TB and GC/AB: ___________________________

2. GC/TB and V(G)P/TB: ___________________________

3. GC/TB and V(G)P/AB: ___________________________

4. GC/AB and V(G)P/TB: ___________________________

5. GC/AB and V(G)P/AB: ___________________________

6. V(G)P/TB and V(G)P/AB: ___________________________

Your Comments (Do not copy paste, Please):
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