measurement is to the true value of the quantity measured
Precision
the exactness of a measurement
Accuracy verses Precision
Is it Accurate, Precise, Both or
Neither? Known
Density = 3.11 g/mL
Test Results 3.77, 3.81, 3.76, 3.80
Precise, not accurate Test Results 3.01, 3.89, 3.50, 5.99 Neither Test Results 3.04, 3.20, 3.13, 3.07 Accurate, not precise Test Results 3.11, 3.12, 3.12, 3.10 Both
What are some reasons for
accuracy or precision being off? Error
Human Error Parallax
Error angle error
Mathematical Error
Instrument Error
How do we represent error?
Error
is the difference between the
actual (or accepted) value and the experimental value Percent Error Percent Error = Accepted Experimental x100 Accepted
Example Problem Working
in the laboratory, a student
finds the density of a piece of pure aluminum to be 2.85 g/cm3. The accepted value for the density of aluminum is 2.699 g/cm3. What is the student's percent error?
Another Example Problem
A
student takes an object with an
accepted mass of 200.00 grams and masses it on his own balance. He records the mass of the object as 196.5 g. What is his percent error?
Which leads us to the lab
Density
can be measured in two ways.
If it is a liquid: Find the mass of the liquid Find the volume of the liquid Divide the mass by the volume If
it is a solid
Find the mass of the solid
Submerge the solid in a liquid and record the difference in the volume of the liquid (final initial) Divide the mass by the volume difference