As one member of a paired team, holds a meter stick vertically (100 cm end at to
ID: 2125389 • Letter: A
Question
As one member of a paired team, holds a meter stick vertically (100 cm end at top), the second member places a hand near the bottom of the meter stick so that the meter stick goes between the thumb and forefinger. The thumb and forefinger should be about 3 cm apart. The second member will read the position of the top edge of the thumb on the meter stick under So (initial position) in their data table. It may be easiest to start at the same spot each time, such as 10.0 cm. Without giving warning, the first member will release the meter stick as the second member catches it with thumb and forefinger as soon as he or she can react. The second partner then reads the position on the top edge of the thumb on the meter stick to the nearest tenth of a centimeter and record it under Ss (stopping position in the data table). The procedure is repeated ten times. The purpose of this experiment is to estimate uncertainty in individual measurements (using concept of limit of error), estimate uncertainty in repeated measurements (using concept of average deviation), examining the propagation of error through a series of calculations and to collect and study measurements of distances fallen by a freely falling body to gain an estimate of average human reaction time. What are some errors and limitations of this experiment in detail?
Explanation / Answer
Errors and limitations are that
1. we can measure only upto a tenth of centimeter. Any measurement more precise than that can not be taken.
2. As this is stopped by hand and our thumb is not sharp we can not determine exact position of thumb.
3. Also the thumb can not hold it in the same position while we are taking measurements. It displaces very little slowly as time passes.
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