Forgotten measurements topic Flashcards
What are two types of possible errors?
Random and Systematic
What causes systematic errors?
Calibration error - equipment not set to zero
Background radiation
Parallax error
What causes random errors?
Unpredictable circumstances
What is a systematic error?
Measurements differ from the true value by a consistent amount each time
What is a random error?
Measurements vary due to unpredictable circumstances. Cannot be corrected.
How to reduce the effect of random errors?
Take multiple measurements and calculate mean
What is precision?
How close together measurements are to each other
What is accuracy?
How close measurements are to the true value
What is a repeatable experiment?
An experiment that you can redo and get similar results using the same method
What is a reproducible experiment?
An experiment that someone else can do and get similar results or when a different method/apparatus is used and similar results are obtained
What is resolution?
The smallest possible reading on a piece of apparatus
