Another way to report uncertainty in a measurement is with the percent uncertain
ID: 716183 • Letter: A
Question
Another way to report uncertainty in a measurement is with the percent uncertainty.
The percent uncertainty of a measurement is defined as the uncertainty associated with the measuring device divided by the actual measurement x 100 :
For instance, the percent uncertainty of the length of the edge of the cube given above would be :
( 0.02 / actual length ) x 100
Using a measuring caliper with a precision of ± 0.008 cm, a technician reports the width of the gap between two machine parts to be 3.018 cm.
Calculate the percent uncertainty in this measurement.
Enter your answer using 1 sig fig. Do not include units in your answer.
Explanation / Answer
percent uncertainty of the gap between two machine
= ( 0.008 / actual gap) x 100
= (0.008 / 3.018) x 100
= 0.265
answer using 1 sig fig
= 0.3