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L2 Basic Math For Physics 2

The document discusses basic math concepts important for physics, including measurement accuracy and precision, adding and subtracting vectors, scientific notation, and techniques for good measurement. It explains that accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the actual value, while precision refers to how close repeated measurements are to each other. Measurement tools and methods can impact the accuracy and precision of results.

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16 views

L2 Basic Math For Physics 2

The document discusses basic math concepts important for physics, including measurement accuracy and precision, adding and subtracting vectors, scientific notation, and techniques for good measurement. It explains that accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the actual value, while precision refers to how close repeated measurements are to each other. Measurement tools and methods can impact the accuracy and precision of results.

Uploaded by

malakbasahal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic math for physics

Measurement, accuracy and precision of measurement


• Measurement: is the determination of the size or magnitude of
something. Or it is comparing that unknown quantity with
some standard quantity or known quantity. The quality of a
scientific measurement is determined by two different characteristics.

• The first is accuracy, which is a measure of how close the


measured value is to the actual value. It is the perfection of
measurement.
• The second is precision, which is a measure of how close together
the values of a series of measurements are to one another.
• The precision of measurement depends on :

1. The tool (device) Accuracy of measurement is ½


the smallest division
2. The method of measuring.
• The figure below shows the results of three tosses in a game of
lawn darts. The object is to get your darts within the yellow plastic
circle. Darts within the circle represent good accuracy; darts
closely packed together represent good precision.
• Mention if the following measurement are accurate or precise or both?

Precise Precise Imprecise


Accurate Inaccurate Inaccurate

Measurement
Techniques of Good Measurement
• To assure precision and accuracy, instruments used to make measurements need to be used
correctly.
• Scales should be read with one’s eye straight in front of the measure.
• If the scale is read from an angle, as shown in the figure, you will get a different, and less
accurate, value.
• A common method for checking the accuracy of an instrument is called two point
calibration.
 1st the instrument reads zero when it should.
 2nd does it give the correct reading when it is measuring an accepted standard.

Copyright © McGraw-Hill
Education Measurement
• Vectors are represented by drawing arrows

• The length and direction of a vector should be drawn to a reasonable scale size
• The length of the vector represents its magnitude (size)

Find the resultant vector for


the following
Adding vectors
Same direction add 20 12
Opposite directions Subtract

6 6
5
Scientific notation
• Scientific notation is used to express a value as
a number between 1 and 10 times an appropriate
power of 10.
• Example 2500 is 2.5 x 103
• 0.000036 is 3.6 x 10-5
• Scientific notation is used mostly to save time
and effort when writing a very large or very small
numbers.
• Example : 300,000,000 is 3 x 108

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