H2 Physics 1 - Quantities and Measurement: Percentage Uncertainty
What you will learn
- Five micrometer readings of a wire diameter: 0.52, 0.54, 0.51, 0.53, 0.52 mm; goal is mean and percentage uncertainty.
- Mean d-bar = 2.62 / 5 = 0.524 mm. For this example, take half the reading range as the spread-based uncertainty estimate: (max minus min) / 2 = 0.03 / 2 = 0.015 mm. A full uncertainty assessment would also consider calibration and instrument resolution.
- Percentage uncertainty = 0.015 / 0.524 x 100% which is about 2.9%, so about 3%.
The displayed lesson text clarifies this example's uncertainty-reporting convention and distinguishes the percentage before rounding from the reported diameter. The original audio and on-screen content are unchanged.
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