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Unit 1.2 Random Errors Versus Systematic Errors

This document discusses different types of errors that can occur in measurements: - Random errors are statistical fluctuations in measured data due to limitations in measurement precision. They can be positive or negative. - Systematic errors are reproducible inaccuracies that consistently make measurements too high or too low. They are difficult to detect and correct. - Absolute error is the difference between measured and true values, while relative error is absolute error divided by the measured value. - To determine error, repeated measurements can be taken and standard deviation and standard error of the mean calculated. The largest of measurement error, estimated uncertainty, and standard deviation/error should be reported. Uncertainty should be rounded and written with the measurement in parentheses with units outside

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93 views5 pages

Unit 1.2 Random Errors Versus Systematic Errors

This document discusses different types of errors that can occur in measurements: - Random errors are statistical fluctuations in measured data due to limitations in measurement precision. They can be positive or negative. - Systematic errors are reproducible inaccuracies that consistently make measurements too high or too low. They are difficult to detect and correct. - Absolute error is the difference between measured and true values, while relative error is absolute error divided by the measured value. - To determine error, repeated measurements can be taken and standard deviation and standard error of the mean calculated. The largest of measurement error, estimated uncertainty, and standard deviation/error should be reported. Uncertainty should be rounded and written with the measurement in parentheses with units outside

Uploaded by

bhargavi
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Unit 1.

2 Random Errors versus Systematic Errors


3. Random Errors versus Systematic Errors
No matter how careful we are and no matter how expensive our equipment is, no measurement
made is ever exact. The accuracy (correctness) and precision (number of significant figures) of
any measurem ent is always limited by a variety of factors:
the skill of the observer (that is you or your lab partner)
the calibration the measuring equipment is capable of
the environment in which the experiment is performed.
When we perform an experiment we are either trying to establish the best values for certain
quantities, or trying to validate a theory. When we obtain experimental values we need to ensure
that we include a range of possible true values based on our limited number of measurements.
We use a variety of terms such as uncertainty, error, variance, or deviation to represent the
disparity in measured data. Two types of errors are possible:
Systematic errors are reproducible inaccuracies that are consistently in the same direction.
Systematic errors are often due to a problem that persists throughout the entire experiment and is
usually the result of a mis-calibrated device, or a measuring technique that always makes the
measured value larger (or smaller) than the "true" value. The electronic scale you use reads 0.05
g too high for all your mass measurements (because it was improperly zeroed at the beginning of
your experiment). Systematic errors are difficult to detect and cannot be analyzed statistically,
because all of the data is off in the same direction (either to high or too low). Spotting and
correcting for systematic error takes a lot of care. Yet, careful design of an experiment and
experimental procedure will allow us to eliminate or to correct for systematic errors.
Even if we eliminated then systematic errors there will remain a second type of variation in
measured values of a single quantity. These remaining deviations are classed as random errors.
Random errors are statistical fluctuations (in either direction) in the measured data due to the
precision limitations of the measurement device. Random errors usually result from the
experimenter's inability to take the same measurement in exactly the same way to get exact the
same value. You measure the mass of a wooden block four times using the same balance and get
slightly different values: 57.46 g, 57.48 g, 57.45g, and 57.47g.
4. Determining random errors.
How can we estimate the uncertainty of a measured quantity? Several approaches can be used,
depending on the application.
(a) Least Count and Measurement Estimate
The least count is the smallest division that is marked on the instrument. Thus a meter stick will
have a least count of 1.0 mm, a balance scale might have a least count of 1 g.

On the ruler below, the least count is 1 cm, and we could estimate the
gray bar to be about 3 1/4 cm

On the ruler below the least count is 0.1 cm, and we could estimate
the length of the gray bar to be 3.35 cm

The Measurement Estimate is the precision to which a measuring device can be read, and is
always equal to or smaller than the least count. The measurement estimate is generally taken to
be the least count or some fraction (1/2, 1/3, 1/4) of the least count. The most common question
that students have is what fraction of the least count should I pick? There is no exact answer to
this question, but instead you must be guided by common sense. The larger the spacing between
the division marks, the more comfortable you will be in estimating a fraction of the least count (1/4
or 1/5 or even 1/10). If the spacing between the division marks is small, you may only be able to
estimate to the least count or 1/2 of the least count.
(b) The Uncertainty Estimate
The inability to read instrumentation to an exact value is an example of uncertainty. Often we
encounter other uncertainties larger than the least count or measurement errors. The underlying
questions here are: How do we determine this uncertainty? How do we minimize these
uncertainties? How do we perform calculations with uncertainties? How do uncertainties
propagate through out our experiment?
c) Uncertainty by Repeated Measurements
If you are unsure of the uncertainty, or the result has no uncertainty attached to it, the preferred
method of determining the uncertainty for that piece of data (yes there will always be an
uncertainty) is to repeat the experiment many times and then use statistical methods to determine
the uncertainty.
Procedure :
Step 1: Calculate the average value of the data
Step 2: Calculate the standard deviation of the data
Step 3: Calculate the standard error of the mean
Use excel to assist you in these calculations
Example: Suppose you collect the following ten data points:
{160, 165, 200, 170, 173, 182, 177, 166, 187, 168}
Step 1 : Using excel: =average(A1..A10)
Step 2 : Using excel: =stdev(A1..A10)
Step 3 : Using excel: =stdev(A1..A10)/SQRT(Count(A1..A10))

Standard Deviation
n

Therefore the average value is 174.8 3.8 which is better stated as 175 4 .

Typically we round uncertainty to 1 significant digit,


but some institutions (or teachers) prefer 2 significant
digits.
Follow your instructor's instructions on whether to use average or standard deviation in your
reports and to the number of uncertainty significant digits.

Example
Find the average value for the length of an object with error, when 10 measurements have been
taken: {87cm, 88cm, 88.5cm, 88cm, 86.8cm, 87.5cm, 89.2cm, 87.4cm, 88.4cm, 87.4cm}.
Solution:

Average value: 87.87


Standard deviation: 0.74057
Standard error of mean: 0.234189
Therefore the average value plus uncertainty is ( 87.9 0.2 )cm

You didnt forget units,


Did you?

(d) Conflicts in the above


In some situations we will get a measurement error, an estimated uncertainty, and an average
error and we notice that there are different error values for each of these. In these situations, you
will be pessimistic and take the largest of the three values as our uncertainty.
A very common question students ask is : Should I include every uncertainty technique in my
answer? The answer is simply, No. This will make life simple (and simple is good), but physicists
do not expect that every single measurement taken in an experiment falls within the uncertainty
interval that you specify. Unusual things happen, and (particularly if you take a lot of data) some of
your data will probably reflect unusual situations. There shouldn't be too many of these unusual
situations (or they wouldn't be unusual, now would they?), but unusual things are bound to
happen. The uncertainty interval should reflect the range in which we can reasonably expect a
"reasonable" value to fall.
For example we might measure a mass of a substance measurement error of 0.02 grams and an
estimated uncertainty of 0.1 gram. We will use 0.1 gram as our uncertainty.
The proper way to write the answer is:
Choose the largest of (a) measurement error, (b) estimated uncertainty, and (c)
average or standard deviation.
Round off the uncertainty to 1 significant figure.
Round off the answer so it has the same number of digits before or after the decimal
point as the uncertainty.
Put the answer and its uncertainty in parentheses, then put the power of 10 and unit
outside the parentheses.
Example
I have a measured quantity of 15.12394 g and a calculated error of 0.06211 g. how should I write
the mass with its uncertainty?
Solution:
(15.120.06) g

5. Relative and Absolute Errors


The quantity z is c alled the absolute error while

z
is called the relative error or fractional
z

uncertainty. Percentage error is the fractional error multiplied by 100%. In practice, either the
percentage error or the absolute error may be provided.
Example: You are given a resistor with a resistance of 1500 ohms and a tolerance of 6%.
What is the absolute error, relative error in the resistance?
Solution:

The absolute error is 6% of 1500 ohms = 90 ohms.


The relative error is

90
6%
1500

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