Prepa-Saint Jean

Douala

Tutorial sheet 1

Measurement and Uncertainty calculations

Exexcise 1

When a flat plate semi-conductor material is crossed by a current I and submitted to an induction
B doing an angle θ with the current, a voltage VH perpendicular to the current and to the induction
appears. This latter is given by the following relation:

𝑉 = 𝐾 × 𝐼 × 𝐵 × sin 𝜃

Where KH is a constant. For values of θ close to 0 (tan(θ) ≈ θ), the relative error are 2% on I, 1%
on B and 3% on θ. Calculate the possible error on V H.

Exercise 2
The volume flow rate of a liquid is calculated by allowing the liquid to flow into a cylindrical tank
(stood on its flat end) and measuring the height of the liquid surface before and after the liquid has
flowed for ten minutes. The volume collected after 10 minutes is given by:

𝐷
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = (ℎ − ℎ ) × 𝜋 ×
2
Where h1 and h2 are starting and finishing surface heights and D is the measured diameter of the
tank

1. If h1 = 2m, h2 = 3m and d = 2m; calculate the volume flow rate in m 3/s.

Exercise 3

Consider the Wheatstone bridge shown in figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Wheatstone bridge

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1) Demonstrate that the expression of Vmes can be given by the following equation
𝑅 𝑅
𝑉 = − .𝑉
𝑅 +𝑅 𝑅 +𝑅
2) When the bridge is balanced, Vmes is equal to Zero. Find a relation between R1 and the other
resistances.
3) Suppose that R3 = R4 and R1 = 2×R2. Determine the error on Vmes if the value of R1 is
measured with an error equal to 1%.

Exercise 4
The density d of a liquid is calculated by measuring its depth c in a calibrated rectangular tank and
then emptying it into a mass measuring system. The length and width of the tank are a and b
respectively and thus the density is given by:
𝑚
𝑑=
𝑎×𝑏×𝑐
Where m is the measured mass of the liquid emptied out. If the possible errors in the measurements
of a, b, c and m are respectively 1%, 1%, 2% and 0.5%, determine the possible error in the
calculated value of the density d.

Dimensional analysis

Exercise 5

When we measure the time constant of RC circuit, we assume the following expression:
𝑉 −𝑉 /
𝐴= =𝑒
𝑉 −𝑉

Where Vc is the capacitor voltage, Vs is the saturation voltage; Vi is the initial voltage.
Vs < Vc < Vi. Calculate the uncertainty of this expression ∆A versus the uncertainty of the
voltage Vi, Vc and Vs (We assume that ∆Vs = ∆Vc = ∆Vi = ∆V).
Exercise

The force exerted between two electric charges q and q' separated by a distance r is given in
magnitude by Coulomb's law:
𝑞 × 𝑞′
𝐹=
4𝜋 × 𝜀 × 𝑟

The force between two parallel wires carrying currents I and I', of length L and separated by a
distance r is given by:

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𝜇 × 𝐼 × 𝐼′ × 𝐿
𝐹=
2𝜋 × 𝑟
1. Give the dimensions of 𝜀 and 𝜇 .
2. Check the consistency of the relationship: 𝜇 𝜀 𝑐 = 1, with c being the speed of light in a
vacuum.

Exercise 6
1) Provide the definition of a physical quantity and its fundamental property.
2) A mass is measured using two units U1 and U2. The ratio of these two units is 𝑅 = .
3) What is the value of the ratio of the two measurement results?
4) The English unit pound (U2) is worth 0.453492 kg. Taking the kilogram for (U 1), what is
the mass in kg of 0.275 pound?
5) The psi is the Anglo-Saxon unit of measurement "pound per square inch" for pressure.
The equations for the units are given: 1 inch = 2.54×10 -2 m; 1 pound = 4448222 N.
What is the value of psi in the international system? It is recalled that the SI unit of
pressure is the Pascal and represents the pressure exerted by a force of 1 Newton over an
area of 1 square meter.
6) Establish the dimensional equation and give the numerical value in the SI system of the
Boltzmann constant: 𝑘 = . It is recalled that the SI system includes 7 units: Length (L),
Mass (M), Time (T), Electric current (I), Temperature (K), Amount of substance (mol),
and Luminous intensity (Cd). Thus, R = 8.314510 J mol -1 K-1, NA = 6.0221367 x 1023
mol-1.
Exercise 7

1. From the definition equation of the electric field E, determine the dimension of the
permittivity of free space ε0 and deduce its unit in SI.
2. a. Determine the dimension of the magnetic field B and deduce its unit in SI.
b. Deduce the dimension of the permittivity of free space µ 0 and its unit in SI.

3. Show that the speed of light in a vacuum C satisfies the following equation: 𝐶 = .

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