Ch5 Eng Approx
Ch5 Eng Approx
Engineering
Approximations
MEC 400
INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING
AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Error is the difference between the reported value and true value.
Error result from systematic errors and describes the lack of
accuracy.
To determine the true value, it is necessary to correct the
systematic error
Example
An Arctic researcher measures the length of a rod at -60C. She records
the length to be 7.58 cm. Her assistance notes a systematic error, in that
the aluminium meterstick was calibrated at room temperature (20C), not
-60C. Because the meterstick shortened at the cold temperature, the
true length of the rod is actually shorter than 7.58cm. The assistant goes to
a handbook and learns that aluminium shortens by 23.6 10-6 cm/cm for
each C that it is cooled.
He calculates that the rod shortened by 0.0143cm, so the actual length of
the rod is 7.57 cm. What is the fractional error and the percentage error?
Number of significant
error
4784
36
60
600
6.00 x 102
31.72
30.02
46.0
0.02
0.020
600.00
Rounding
In rounding a value to the proper number of significant figures, increase last
digit retained by 1 if the first figure dropped is 5 or greater.
Example:
827.48 rounds to 827.5 or 827 for four and three significant digits
Example:
Estimate amount of paper (mass in kg) used by students of MEC400 for
homework, quizzes and examinations during a semester
Assumptions
1.Number of students: 150
2. 5 Sheets are used per credit hour per week
3.14 weeks per semester
4.Tablet of 50 sheets of paper has a mass of about 0.5 lbm
5.Student credit hour is 3
Calculation
Mass of sheet = (0.5 lbm/50 sheets)x(454g/lbm)=4.54 g/sheet
Mass of paper =
150 students x (3 credit/student) x (5 sheet/credit/week)x(14 weeks)x(4.54g/sheet )
x (1kg/1000g)
= 143.01 kg/sem
= 1.4 x 102 kg/sem