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(OCR) Combininguncertainties2

The document provides a calculation sheet for combining uncertainties in physics measurements and calculations. It includes 5 examples of calculating values with uncertainties: 1) calculating the length and uncertainty of string remaining after a cut, 2) calculating speed and uncertainty from distance and time measurements, 3) calculating acceleration from changes in speed, 4) calculating density of a cube from its mass and dimensions, 5) calculating the wavelength and uncertainty of light in a Young's slits experiment. The answers section shows the step-by-step working to calculate each value and its uncertainty.

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Arda Kavutçu
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14 views3 pages

(OCR) Combininguncertainties2

The document provides a calculation sheet for combining uncertainties in physics measurements and calculations. It includes 5 examples of calculating values with uncertainties: 1) calculating the length and uncertainty of string remaining after a cut, 2) calculating speed and uncertainty from distance and time measurements, 3) calculating acceleration from changes in speed, 4) calculating density of a cube from its mass and dimensions, 5) calculating the wavelength and uncertainty of light in a Young's slits experiment. The answers section shows the step-by-step working to calculate each value and its uncertainty.

Uploaded by

Arda Kavutçu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2 Foundations of physics

OCR Physics A Calculation sheet

Combining uncertainty
1 A piece of string 1.000 ( 0.002) m is cut from a ball of string of length 100.000
( 0.002) m. Calculate the length of the remaining string and the uncertainty in this
length. (2 marks)
2 A runner completes 100 ( 0.02) m in 18.6 ( 0.2) s. Calculate his average speed
and the uncertainty in this value. (2 marks)
3 A car accelerates, with constant acceleration, from 24 ( 1) m s–1 to 31( 2) m s–1
in 9.5 ( 0.1) s. Calculate the acceleration. State your answer with its absolute
uncertainty. (3 marks)
4 A cube has a mass of 7.870 ( 0.001) kg and sides of length 10.0 ( 0.1) cm.
Give the value of the density of the cube. (2 marks)
5 In a Young’s slits experiment, two slits that are very close together are
illuminated, and on a distant screen an interference pattern of light and dark fringes
is seen. The separation of the fringes can be used to calculate the wavelength of the
light. In a demonstration of this experiment:
 the double slit separation, a  0.20 ( 0.01) mm
 the distance from the slits to the screen, D  4.07 ( 0.01) m
 the distance between two adjacent bright fringes x  12.0 ( 0.05) mm.

The equation for calculating wavelength is λ  .


a Calculate:
i the wavelength, λ, of the light (1 mark)
ii the absolute uncertainty in the wavelength. (2 marks)
b The distance between 11 fringes (10 spaces)  120.0 ( 0.05) mm. Using this
value, calculate the new absolute uncertainty in the wavelength. (2 marks)
c Comment on whether the uncertainty in the wavelength could be significantly
reduced by increasing the number of fringes measured to, for example, 20 or more.
(1 mark)

© Oxford University Press 2015 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements


This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 1
2 Foundations of physics
OCR Physics A Calculation sheet

Answers
1 99.000 (1 mark)  0.004 (1 mark)

2 Speed = dist / time


Average speed  5.376 m s–1 (1 mark)
Percentage uncertainty is 0.02%  1.08%  1.1%  1% to nearest %
Absolute uncertainty is  0.05 m s–1 (1 mark) (accept percentage or absolute
uncertainty)
3 Change in speed  7 ( 3) m s–1
Acceleration  0.737 m s–2 (1 mark)
Percentage uncertainty  [(1/24) + (2/31) + (0.1/9.5) ] × 100 = 11.6% (1
mark)
Acceleration with absolute uncertainty  0.7 ( 0.3) m s–2 (1 mark)
4 Density  7870 kg m –3
(1 mark)

Percentage uncertainty   100%  3 

 0.01%  3%
 3% nearest %
Density  7900 ( 3% or  200) kg m–3 (1 mark) (accept percentage or absolute
uncertainty)

5.a i

 5.896  10–7 m
 5.9  10–7 m (2 significant figures) (1 mark)

ii % uncertainty in  

 5%  0.4%  0.2%
 5.6%
 6% (to nearest %) (1 mark)
Absolute uncertainty  6% of 5.9  10–7 m
 3.54  10–8 m
 0.4  10–7 m (1 significant figure) (1 mark)

b New % uncertainty  5%   0.2%

 5%  0.04%  0.2%
 5% to nearest % (1 mark)
Absolute uncertainty  5% of 5.9  10 m
–7

 2.95  10–8 m

© Oxford University Press 2015 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements


This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 2
2 Foundations of physics
OCR Physics A Calculation sheet

 0.3  10–7 m (1 significant figure) (1 mark)


c The 5% uncertainty is due to the uncertainty in the slit separation a, so a
further reduction in the uncertainty in x would not reduce the total uncertainty.
(1 mark)

© Oxford University Press 2015 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements


This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 3

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