Question

Please answer these questions:

1) What determines the number of significant figures in an experimental measurement?

2) How do we find experimental uncertainty in measurement?Why is this important?

3) What is easier to measure, the diameter or the radius of a ball, and why?

Answer 1

1. Methods and instruments used in experiment determine the number of significant figure in the output or measurement. If we have more advanced instruments then we can measure with greater accuracy and will have more number of significant figures in the output. For example we can measure the diameter of a small ball using screw gauge and vernier callipers, Here we know that vernier calipers is less accurate then screw gauge  because screw gauge gives the measurement with more number of significant figures.

2. There are many type of experimental uncertainty actually We even cannot determine all of them But we can reduce them by taking more number of measurements and average them. This helps us to increase the precision of measurement. One type of uncertainty is least count uncertainty. Least count is the minimum is the meant that can be made using a specific instrument.Least count is the minimum Measurement that can be made using a specific instrument. There is also a zero error uncertainty this can be reduced by well calibrating the instrument before use.

3. Of course diameter is easier to measure of a ball because diameter can be measured from measuring the distance between two points on ball just opposite to each other we can in the use screw gauge or were vernier caliper. Whereas radius is very hard to measure because we will have to measure the length from centre of ball to any point on its outer surface and it is challenging task to find the centre of ball.