The first skills of every experiment.
3 lessons, about 1 h 40 min3 simulations10 problems4 practice questionsPython in every lesson
Created by StemPy LabThe vernier calipers and the screw gauge read a length to a fraction of the smallest division of their main scale. The smallest length that an instrument can measure is its least count. A reading is the main scale part plus the extra scale part times the least count, and it is corrected for the zero error.
Every measured number has an error. The significant figures show how well the number is known. The absolute error is the size of the possible mistake, the relative error is that mistake divided by the value, and the percentage error is the relative error times 100. When quantities are added or multiplied, their errors combine by fixed rules.
A simple pendulum gives g from the straight line of T squared against L. The metre scale balances on a knife edge, and the principle of moments gives the mass of the scale or of an unknown body. The best-fit line through the readings is found by least squares, and its slope is read from two far-apart points of the line.
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