4/7/2019 1

Error
People in scientific and technological professions are regularly required to give quantitative answers.

How long? How heavy? How loud?

What force? What field?
The exact measurement of a physical quantity not possible
Uncertainty in the measurements is called Error
Errors are a measure of the lack of certainty
in
If Xaisvalue.
the quantity measured, then ΔX is called
Error in X i.e (X ± ΔX)

Error = Actual value - Measured value

Mistakes or blunder such as reading the wrong value,
pressing a wrong button on a calculator,
using the wrong formula
 Sources of Errors
Experimental errors, are inherent in the measurement process and cannot be
eliminated simply by repeating the experiment.

Systematic Errors
Systematic Errors are those whose causes are known or can be determined.

Errors are result from:-

•Careless reading of instruments scales.
•Faulty calibration of measuring instruments.
•Poorly maintained instruments.
•Faulty reading of instruments by user.
Systematic Errors can be reduced by refining the measurement
method or technique.

4/7/2019 3
 Random Errors
Errors can be caused by a variety of
sources,
Inability to read measurement beyond
the smallest division.
Limited accuracy of measuring
instrument.
Fluctuation in temperature, pressure.
Random Errors occur by chance.

4/7/2019 Moh'd Hamza 4

Personal Errors

Personal Errors are human errors what are

commonly called mistakes, blunders,
miscalculation, misreading.
Errors can result from measuring or misreading
the scale of an instrument or forgetting to divide
the diameter by 2 before calculating the area of
circle.
Such Errors are surely significant but they can
eliminated by performing the experiment again
correctly next time.
How can minimize Errors?

 Using instruments of high precision.

 Improving experimental techniques, etc.
 Repeating the observations several times and
taking the arithmetic mean of all the
observations.,
I- Error Calculations:
The result of any measured quantity can be recorded in the
following format:
x  x  x
Σx i
where : x is the average value 
N
and Δx is the random (standard) error.
to calculate Δx, there are several cases:

1- For a single reading (one trial)

Δx ≡ half of the smallest division of the scale
 Example (1): Determine the reading of the first thermometer shown:

Solution : T  T  T
T = 11.0 ± (½ x smallest division)
= 11.0 ± (½ x 1)
= 11.0 ± 0.5 oC
4/7/2019 8
Example (2): Determine the smallest division and Δx in
each of the following devices.

ruler Smallest division = 0.1

Δx = (1/2 )*0.1= 0.05

mass balance 0.1

mass balance 0.01
4/7/2019 9
 0.1

T=37 oC ΔT =(1/2 *0.1)=0.05oC 2

T ± ΔT=(37 ± 0.05) oC

T=26 oC
thermometer
ΔT=(1/2 *2)=1 oC
0.1 T ± ΔT = (26 ± 1) oC
2- For a set of measurements (readings):
use the standard deviation method as follows:
a- Calculate the mean value of the readings

b- Calculate the standard deviation

c- Calculate the standard error Δx

Example (3): Calculate the random (standard) error for the following readings
Solution:
a- T = (ΣTi)/N = (18.6 + 19.3 + 17.7 + 20.4) / 4 = 19.0 11

b- σ= (3.9/3)½ = 1.14
T (oC) (Ti-T) (Ti-T)2
c- ΔT = 1.14/ √4 = 0.57 18.6 - 0.4 0.16
19.3 0.3 0.09
∴ T = T ± ΔT = = (19.0 ± 0.57) oC
17.7
- 1.3 1.69
20.4 1.4 1.96
Σ=3.9
3. Propagation of Error:

The most general case of error propagation is that in which the derived
quantity R depends on several independent variables R (x,y,z), in this
case use the error propagation method as follows:

2
 R   R   R 
2 2

R    x    y    z  ...
2 2 2 2

 x   y   z 

2
 R   R 
2
 R 
2

 R    x 2
 
 
 y 2
   z 2
 ...
 x   y   z 

4/7/2019 12
Example (4): If R= xy2/z, find (ΔR) for x (kg) y(m) z(s)
the data shown in the table. 18.6 100 13.1

Solution: 19.3 105 13.1

a- Take the partial derivative of R=xy2/z, as 17.7 100 13.1

shown 20.4 95 13.1
2 2
 2
y   2x y 
2
  xy
2

R 2   x 2  
 z 
 y 2    z 2  ...
 z     2

   z 
b- calculate the standard error for each variable and substitute in the
main equation to get
2 2
 100   2 19 100   19 100 
2 2 2
R  
2
 0.57   
2
 2.04   
2
 .052
 
2
 13.1  13 .1  13.1 
c- then find ΔR

4/7/2019 13
4- Percentage Error

If the real value is known, then the percentage error is:

δ% = |measured value – actual value| / actual value x 100%

Example (5): If gexp = 10.2 m/s2 and gact = 9.8 m/s2, then find δg%.

Solution: δg% = |10.2 – 9.8| / 9.8 x 100%

= 4.082 % = 4.1 %

4/7/2019 14
Percent Difference

Percent Difference
Percent difference measures the precision of two
measurements by the difference between the
measured or experimental values E1 and E2 expressed as
a fraction the average of the two values.
The equation to use to calculate the percent
difference is:
(E1 - E2)
% difference  x 100%
(E1  E2)/2
15
4/7/2019 16
Example (7): Find the area and perimeter of the rectangle shown

4/7/2019
m = Slope or Gradient of the line (is a measure of steepness)=(ΔY/ ΔX)
b = the Y Intercept (where the line crosses the Y axis)

4/7/2019 18
Types of Slope

negative positive

Zero

Undefined or
No Slop
19
4/7/2019 20
 t (s) Y (m)
1.0 25
2.0 35
3.0 45
4.0 55
5.0 65

4/7/2019 21
4/7/2019 22
Example (9)

In the equation of the line, y=7.9123x -1.4706
What is the unit of y and x?
the unit of y is (cm) and of x is (s)
time(s) displacement
(this example from experimental uncertainty(error)and (cm)
data analysis) 2 18
4 31
6 48
7.9 61
10 79

10.9 87

4/7/2019 23
4/7/2019 24