TOPIC 1: MEASUREMENT AND
UNCERTAINTIES
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1.1 –
MEASUREMENTS IN
PHYSICS
1.1 – MEASUREMENTS IN
PHYSICS
•State the fundamental units of the SI system.
•Be able to express numbers in scientific notation.
•Appreciate the order of magnitude of various quantities.
•Perform simple order-of- magnitude calculations mentally.
•Express results of calculations to the correct number of significant
THE SI SYSTEM
The SI system (short for Système International d’Unités) has seven fundamental
units
EXAM QUESTION
Which of the following is a derived unit?
A. Mole
B. Kelvin
C. Coulomb
D. Ampere
THE SI SYSTEM
Derived Quantities
EXAM QUESTION
Which of the following expresses the watt in terms of fundamental units?
A. kg m2 s
B. kg m2 s-1
C. kg m2 s-2
D. kg m2 s-3
)
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
Scientific notation (commonly referred to as "standard form") is a way of writing
numbers that are too big or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form.
[Link]
METRIC MULTIPLIERS
Small or large quantities can be expressed in terms of units that are related to the
basic ones by powers of 10.
Scale of things video
ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE
AND ESTIMATES
An order-of-magnitude estimate of a variable, whose precise value is unknown, is an
estimate rounded to the nearest power of ten
EXAM QUESTION
What is the order of magnitude of the mass, in kg, of an apple?
A. 10-3
B. 10-1
C. 10+1
D. 10+3
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
The number of digits used to express a number carries information about how
precisely the number is known.
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
OPERATIONS
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1.2 UNCERTAINTIES
AND ERRORS
KEY OBJECTIVES
•Distinguish between random and systematic uncertainties.
•Work with absolute, fractional and percentage uncertainties.
•Use error bars in graphs.
•Calculate the uncertainty in a gradient or an intercept.
Essential idea:
Scientists aim towards designing experiments that can give a “true
value” from their measurements, but due to the limited precision in
measuring devices, they often quote their results with some form of
uncertainty.
TYPES OF UNCERTAINTY
SYSTEMATIC ERROR
A systematic error biases measurements in the same direction; the measurements
are always too large or too small.
Systematic error is due to the instrument being “out of adjustment” or has an offset
zero error
RANDOM ERROR
The presence of random uncertainty is revealed when repeated measurements of
the same quantity show a spread of values, some too large some too small.
Random error is error due to the recorder, rather than the instrument used for the
measurement.
The only way to minimize random error is to take many readings of the same
measurement and to average them all together
BEST ESTIMATE AND
UNCERTAINTIES
What is the reading of each ruler?
The first reading is between 23.2 and 23.4
The reading is 23.3
half the
smallest width
The second reading is between 32.3 and 32.4
The reading is 32.35
half the smallest width
BEST ESTIMATE AND
UNCERTAINTIES
ACCURACY AND PRECISION
The measurement is said to be accurate if the systematic
error in the measurement is small.
The measurement is said to be precise if the random
uncertainty is small.
WATCH VIDEO
[Link]
EXAM QUESTION
An ammeter has a zero offset error. This fault will affect
A. neither the precision nor the accuracy if the reading
B. only the precision of the reading
C. only the accuracy of the reading
D. both precision and accuracy of the reading
FORMS OF UNCERTAINTIES
AND ERRORS Best estimate or mean value
L = (28.3 ± 0.4) cm 28.3
Absolute Fractional uncertainty Percentage uncertainty
uncertainty
the raw uncertainty or The ratio of absolute The fractional uncertainty
precision of your uncertainty to mean Multiplying the fractional
measurement value uncertainty by 100%
0.4
0.4cm = 0.0141 0.0141×100%=1.41%
28.3
PROPAGATION OF UNCERTAINTIES
ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
Q=a+b ⇒ ∆Q=∆a+∆b
Q=a−b ⇒ ∆Q=∆a+∆b
Q=a+b−c ⇒ ∆Q=∆a+∆b+∆c
Example:
A 9.51 0.15 meter rope ladder is hung from a roof that is 12.56 0.07 meters above the
ground. How far is the bottom of the ladder from the ground?
Solution:
Q=a−b ⇒ ∆Q=∆a+∆b
Q=a−b=12.56-9.51=3.05m
∆Q=∆a+∆b=0.15+0.07=0.22m
The bottom is 3.05 0.22 m from the ground
PROPAGATION OF UNCERTAINTIES
MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION
Example:
A car travels 64.7 0.5 meters in 8.65 0.05 seconds. What is its speed?
Solution:
Speed = 7.47
PROPAGATION OF UNCERTAINTIES
POWERS AND ROOTS
EXAM QUESTION
A stone falls from rest to the bottom of a water well of depth d. The time t taken to
fall is 2.0 ±0.2 s. The depth of the well is calculated to be 20 m using d = at 2. The
uncertainty in a is negligible.
What is the absolute uncertainty in d?
A. ± 0.2 m
Solution:
B. ± 1 m
C. ± 2 m
D. ± 4 m =
BEST-FIT LINES Plot your own error bars
L= 22.2
ERROR BARS
CAN YOU PLOT THESE DATA ?!
Source: [Link]
RECALL THIS TABLE FORMAT
IN YOUR IA
This table includes
all the information
and data points
required by IB in
your IA
GRADIENT OF THE BEST FIT
LINE
The gradient (slope) of the best-fit line is found
by using two points on the best-fit line as far
from each other as possible. The gradient is
then:
-1
EXAM QUESTION
Which one of the following shows the best-fit line for the plotted points?
GRADIENT OF
CURVED BEST
FIT LINE
The variables will be proportional if:
-The best fit line is a straight line
- It passes through the origin
UNCERTAINTIES
IN THE GRADIENT
AND INTERCEPT
- The green line is the maximum gradient
intercepts in -0.18 N
- The red line is the minimum gradient
intercepts in 0.13 N
EXAM QUESTION
The graph shows a plot of the terminal speed v of the paper
toy (calculated from the raw data) and the number of paper
sheets n used to construct the toy. The fixed distance is
0.75 m and has an absolute uncertainty of 0.01 m. The
percentage uncertainty in the time taken to fall through the
fixed distance is 5%.
Calculate the absolute uncertainty in the terminal speed of
the paper toy for n=6.
Solution:
Percentage uncertainty in distance=
Percentage uncertainty in v =1.3+5=6.3
Absolute uncertainty in n=6 point is
0.40×0.063 = 0.025 ms−1
1.3 VECTORS AND
SCALARS
KEY OBJECTIVES
Direction
•Distinguish between vector and scalar quantities.
•Resolve a vector into its components.
•Reconstruct a vector from its components.
•Carry out operations with vectors.
Speed
VECTOR VS SCALAR
A vector quantity is one which has a magnitude (size)
and a direction.
A scalar quantity has only magnitude (size).
MULTIPLICATION OF A
VECTOR BY A SCALAR
A vector can be multiplied by a number. The
vector a multiplied by the
number 2 gives a vector in the same
direction as a but 2 times longer. The
vector a multiplied by −0.5 is opposite to a
in direction and half as long
ADDITION OF VECTORS
To add two vectors:
1 Draw them so they start at a common point O.
2 Complete the parallelogram whose sides are d and e.
3 Draw the diagonal of this parallelogram starting at O. This is the vector
d+e.
SUBTRACTION OF VECTORS
To subtract two vectors:
1 Draw them so they start at a common point O.
2 The vector from the tip of e to the tip of d is the vector d − e.
(Notice that is equivalent to adding d to −e.)
EXAM QUESTION
In which of the following diagrams do the three forces add up to zero?
TRIGONOMETRIC RULES
Source: [Link]
COMPONENTS OF A VECTOR
The x- and y-components of A are called Ax and Ay.
They are given by:
Ax = A cos θ
Ay =A sinθ
RECONSTRUCTING A VECTOR
FROM ITS COMPONENTS
The magnitude is found by using the Pythagorean theorem and the angle by using
the definition of tangent.
,
RECONSTRUCTING A
VECTOR FROM ITS
COMPONENTS
Example:
components Fx = −2.0 and Fy = −4.0