Lab 1: Measurements and Experimental Techniques

Introduction

It is very important that you read the syllabus and the file on writing lab reports before you start
this lab. They contain important information that we will be looking for in the grading of these
lab reports. Make sure you know what they are. It is also important to keep a copy of your labs
that you turn in as a precaution against lost reports or mistakes in the eLearning gradebook. Keep
your graded lab reports at least through the end of this semester.
This lab concerns measurements and errors involved in them. Any measurement taken is only
accurate to a certain degree. The degree of accuracy is established by the procedure and the
instruments used to make those measurements. Analyzing data obtained through measurements
in a physical experiment and estimating the errors involved is vital for coming up with logical
conclusions. For example, in future labs we will be answering questions such as Are momentum
and energy conserved? using analysis techniques we learn in this lab.

Key Concepts
Errors and error propagation
Mean/average
Standard deviation
Standard error of the mean (SEOM)
Uncertainty

Theory

3.1

Errors

We encounter two kinds of errors in experiments. The third item mentioned here is an important
definition but not another specific type.
1. Random errors are fluctuations of measured quantities that can be on either side of the
true value we want to obtain. For instance, the measurement of a length by a device that
should be 120 cm can come out to be 120.5 or 119.4 cm, without having a preference for
giving higher or lower readings. Since these errors are distributed randomly about the mean,
we can make several measurements of the same quantity and hope that the errors become
smaller as we make more measurements. The larger the number of accurate measurements,
the smaller the final error of the measurement will be. Examples of random errors include
parallax error from the observer, mechanical vibrations in the equipment, and unpredictable
fluctuations. Obtaining the final value of the measurement is described later (see mean).
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2. Systematic errors are reproducible errors, which are consistently either above or below the
true value. An example is measuring a length of wire using vernier calipers with an incorrect
zero calibration. If the zero error is +0.2 mm, measurements of lengths that are 5 mm, 10
mm, and 20 mm will give us values of 5.2 mm, 10.2 mm, and 20.2 mm. To account for these
errors, they must be found out and handled individually. For the faulty caliper used in the
example above, we must subtract 0.2 mm from any measured length.
3. Measurement errors are another type of uncertainty involved in single measurements.
Suppose we measure the diameter of a disk. The minimum length that can be measured on
the stick is 1 mm (0.1 cm). If the diameter lies somewhere between 5.1 cm and 5.2 cm, which
value do we report? In such cases the value is reported as 5.15 0.05 cm. Note that the
uncertainty of the measurement is one half the smallest tick mark on the measuring device.
This applies to all instruments.
A sound experimental procedure involves several measurements of the physical quantities required in one of several ways. Once those measurements have been made, we compute the statistical
quantities listed in the key concepts above to make inferences from the data obtained.

3.2

Statistical quantities

) or average is obtained by summing up all of the measurements (M ) made

1. The mean (M
and dividing by the number of measurements (n).
Pn

=
M

i=1

Mi

2. Standard deviation () shows how much variation from the average exists within a set of
measurements. The significance of the standard deviation is that it allows us to set a limit
on the upper and lower bound of the error in our measurement. More specifically, it can be
taken to be the uncertainty involved in an individual measurement of a set of measurements.
The mathematical formula for the standard deviation is
sP
=

n
i=1 (Mi

)2
M
.
n1

3. The standard error of the mean (M or just SEOM) estimates how well the mean of
the data set estimates the mean we would get if we took a large number of measurements.
SEOM is also referred to as the uncertainty of the mean that results from a data set. It is
defined as
Standard Deviation

SEOM (M ) =
= .
n
No. of Measurements
4. The percent error, sometimes written as , gives us a way to compare a value measured to
the theoretical value for that quantity. For a quantity q, it is defined as
percent error () =

|qexperimental qtheoretical |
100%.
qtheoretical

5. The percent difference gives us a way to compare two quantities where neither one is
known to be the correct value. It is defined as the magnitude of the difference divided by
the average,
|q1 | |q2 |
100%.
percent difference = 1
(|q
1 | + |q2 |)
2
Let us start with a simple example of measurements of the diameter of a disk. See Table 1.
Measurement

Diameter (cm)

4.7

5.2

5.1

4.9

5.1

Table 1: Table of measurements of diameter of a disk.

For our example, the mean diameter is
disk = D1 + D2 + D3 + D4 + D5 = 4.7 + 5.2 + 5.1 + 4.9 + 5.1 = 5.0 cm.
D
5
5
The standard deviation in the measurement of our disk diameter is
s
2 + (D2 D)
2 + (D3 D)
2 + (D4 D)
2 + (D5 D)
2
(D1 D)
disk =
51
r
(4.7 5)2 + (5.2 5)2 + (5.1 5)2 + (4.9 5)2 + (5.1 5)2
=
51
= 0.2 cm.
What this means is that if we measure the diameter of the disk again using the same instrument,
we can say that this measured value is likely to be within 0.2 cm of our average diameter. The
standard error of the mean is
disk
0.2 cm
D = =
0.089 0.1 cm.
n
5
Once we have found these quantities, we can report the value of the measurement as
Value = Mean SEOM,
disk D = 5.0 0.1 cm.
Diameter = D
The measurement uncertainty may be significantly different from the standard deviation, which we
called the uncertainty in a single measurement obtained from a data set. This is because standard
deviation is a result of several measurements of the same quantity made as accurately as possible.
The standard deviation is a deduced quantity rather than a single measurement.
This brings us to another important aspectsignificant figures and precision. The arithmetic operations involved in calculating mean, standard deviation, and SEOM can result in numbers with a large number of significant figures. However, the number of measurements we take
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and the precision of our measuring instruments are limited. For example, measuring a length ten
times with a meter stick and reporting a value of 29.3 0.2374 cm does not make sense. The
number of significant figures and precision for the SEOM exceeds the number of significant figures
and precision we have for the measurement and implies it is much more accurate than it really is.
The uncertainty should have only one significant figure and it should have the same precision as
the measurement. This can be done by making sure it is at the smallest decimal place of the value
or in some cases one less. Therefore, the value should be reported as 29.3 0.2 cm.
Now sometimes the standard deviation and SEOM are zero. This does not mean there is no
error in your average. You will still have the measurement error from your measuring instrument.
To properly take this into consideration you would say the error of any value is the measuring
error and SEOM taken in quadrature.
p
error = (measuringerror)2 + SEOM 2

3.3

Error Propagation

In many experiments we calculate different quantities and perform arithmetic operations on them
to obtain another physical quantity of interest. Let us say that for an experiment, we measure the
speed of an object and the time for which it travels. Assuming that the speed is constant, we can
calculate the distance traveled by the object as
Distance (m) = Speed (m/sec) * Time (sec).
But each of these measurements (speed and time) already has an uncertainty associated with it
due to our measuring devices. How do we then know the uncertainty in the calculation of distance?
We have to use the following error propagation techniques.
Suppose a function is given as F = 2xy + x2 y. This equation means that we have two measured
quantities, x and y, and the physical quantity that we are interested in calculating is F (not
necessarily a force, could be anything), which depends on the given combination of x and y. We
know the uncertainties in the measurements of x and y, called x and y, respectively. We wish
to find out what the uncertainty in F is, or F .
Suppose x = x
x = 23.1 .1 and y = y y = 12.22 .05. First find the value of F by
plugging in the known information:
F = 2 x
y + x
2 y
= 2(23.1)(12.22) + (23.1)2 (12.22)
= 564.564 + 6520.7142
= 7085.2782
= 7090
We will look at two methods to determine the uncertainty.
1. Method 1 (less accurate):
(a) Find the ranges of the variables.
x
x 23.0 < x < 23.2
y y 12.17 < y < 12.27
(b) Find the highest possible value of the function using the appropriate values of x and y.
Fhigh = 2(23.2)(12.27) + (23.2)2 (12.27) = 7173.5
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(c) Find the lowest possible value of the function using the appropriate values of x and y.
Flow = 2(23.0)(12.17) + (23.0)2 (12.17) = 6997.8
(d) Calculate the uncertainty by using the equation below.
Fhigh Flow
2
7173.5 6997.8
=
2
= 87.9

F =

= 90
Using this method, we have to be sure to use the appropriate values for x and y to get Fhigh
and Flow correctly. If the function has a fraction, notice that the high values of variables
in the denominator will give you Flow , and the low values in the denominator will give you
Fhigh . This is true, since dividing by a higher number lowers the result.
2. Method 2 (more accurate):
Use this method if you are familiar with calculus. Calculate the uncertainty using
s
2 
2
F
F
x +
y .
F =
x
y
We have two terms under the square root, because F depends on two variables, x and y. If it
was also dependent on another quantity, say z, then we would have a similar term appearing
for z under the square root.
F
= 2y + 2xy
x

F
= 2x + x2
y

= 2(12.22) + 2(23.1)(12.22)

= 2(23.1) + (23.1)2

= 589.004

= 579.81
s

F =
=
=

F
x
x

2


+

F
y
y

2

(589.004 .1)2 + (579.81 .05)2

4309.706

= 65.648
= 70
Thus, we report the value of F as F = F F . For the first method that gives us F = 7090 90
and for the second method F = 7090 70.

3.4

Hookes Law

Although this experiment doesnt directly concern Hookes Law, our measurements require a
basic understanding of it. Hookes law for an ideal spring states that the extension in a spring is
directly proportional to the force applied to it. It can be written
F = kx,
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where F is the force applied to the spring, x is the extension in the spring, and k is the spring
constant (or stiffness of the spring), an intrinsic property of the spring itself.
When masses are attached to springs, the weight of the masses is the force that leads to the
extension in the spring. If we determine the extensions in the spring for various known masses
hanging from it, we can determine the spring constant by plotting the data. Rearranging the
equation above gives
F
.
k=
x
In this case, the force (weight of masses) is given by F = mg, where g = 9.80 m/s2 . In the analysis
section of this lab, you will plot the extensions of the spring you measure for different masses, and
the slope of the graph will give you the value of k.
Understanding how your experimental data relates to the expected theoretical results is crucial
to drawing conclusions from any experiment. In particular, it is important to be able to extract
useful information from graphs made from your data. In the case of linear relationships, like
Hookes law, remember that the general equation of a line is y = mx + b. This is the form of our
theoretical equation F = kx, where y = F , x = x, m = k, and b = 0. Therefore, if we plot the
force (vertical axis) vs. the change in length (horizontal axis), the slope of the line corresponds to
the spring constant k.

Experiment

The experiment has two parts. In the first part, you will measure the physical dimensions of
springs and use the data to calculate different quantities, such as their densities. The aim of this
exercise is to get familiar with the things you have read up to this point by getting your hands
dirty. Fill out Table 2 as you go through this part. The second part of the experiment is an
exercise in performing experiments accurately, where you will measure the elongation of a spring
due to an applied force. Data Table 3 is associated with this part.

4.1

Equipment

Triple beam balance

Set of masses
Meter stick
Mass hanger
Vernier calipers
Springs (1 red, 1 blue, 1 green)
Spring hanger (bolt)
Small table clamp

4.2
4.2.1

Procedure
Part I

1. Determine the uncertainties in the three measuring devices you are using: triple beam balance, meter stick, and vernier calipers. Record the values below, paying attention to the
units asked for. Remember that the uncertainty is half the distance between the smallest
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Figure 1: Red arrows show places for measuring quantities like the length of the spring and the
diameter of the wire. Blue arrows are for quantities like the spring diameter.
tick marks in your scale.
Uncertainty of balance (kg):
Uncertainty of meter stick (m):
Uncertainty of calipers (m):
For each spring:
2. Measure the mass, and record the measurement in Table 2. You only need to take one
measurement, but be as accurate as possible.
3. Ignoring the loops at the ends, measure the length of the spring three times at different
places along the spring using the meter stick (see red arrows in Figure 1). The spring should
not be stretched. With lab teams of three, each partner can make a measurement.
4. Measure the spring diameter using the vernier calipers at three different locations along the
length of the spring as shown by the blue arrows in Figure 1.
5. Measure the diameter of the wire itself using vernier calipers. Again, make three measurements of the wire diameter at different locations.
6. Count the number of coils in the spring.
4.2.2

Part II

1. Measure the mass of the hanger, and record the value in the space below.
mh = hanger mass (kg):
2. Hang the red spring off of the spring hanger, attach the mass hanger to the springs free
end, and put a 100 g mass on the mass hanger. Record the total force acting on the spring,
which is the weight of the hanger plus the weight of the added mass: F = Wh + Wadded =
(mh + madded )g. Take g = 9.80 m/s2 , and pay attention to units.
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Mass (kg)

Length (m)

Spring Diameter (m)

Wire Diameter (m)

# Coils

Red

Blue

Green

Table 2: Data table for spring measurements.

3. Measure the new stretched length of the spring, subtract the original length, and record the
change in length in Table 3. Accuracy matters here! Make sure the spring is not swinging
when you make measurements.
4. Increase the mass on the spring in increments of 50 g until you reach 300 g, and record the
change in length of the spring for each force in Table 3.
5. Repeat the above steps for the blue and green springs. (Dont worry if you dont see a change
for some springs and some masses.)

Analysis

5.1

Part I

1. Compute the mean, standard deviation, and SEOM for all the dimensions that you measured
for the springs in Table 2 (length, spring diameter, and wire diameter). Dont forget to read
the section on calculations in the Writing Lab Reports file online.
2. Compute the circumference of one coil for each spring and its uncertainty using error propagation.
3. Compute the length and volume of the wire of each spring and their respective uncertainties
using error propagation. Hint: the wire length is the number of coils times the circumference
of a coil.
4. Compute the density of the wire for each spring (spring mass divided by total volume of
wire) and its uncertainty using error propagation.
5. You have already measured the diameter of the wire and the length of the springs with their
respective uncertainties. Calculate the number of coils with these numbers and propagate
the error. Compare your calculated result to the actual number you counted.
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Mass Added (g)

Force (N)

Change in Length (m)

100
150
Red

200
250
300
100
150

Blue

200
250
300
100
150

Green

200
250
300

Table 3: Data table for plotting force vs. change in length.

5.2

Part II

Perform the following for each spring:

1. Plot (manually or otherwise) the applied force vs. the length of the spring. (Remember that
when graphing, it is the vertical axis vs. the horizontal axis.)
2. Determine the spring constant for each spring using your graphs.
3. Is there a relationship between the spring constant and other calculated quantities, like
density of the spring, the length of the spring, the number of coils, etc?