A student measures the speed of a car as 60 km/h with an uncertainty of ±2 km/h.
Practice Questions
Q1
A student measures the speed of a car as 60 km/h with an uncertainty of ±2 km/h. What is the percentage uncertainty?
3.33%
2.5%
4.0%
5.0%
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
A student measures the speed of a car as 60 km/h with an uncertainty of ±2 km/h. What is the percentage uncertainty?
Step 1: Identify the measured value of the speed of the car, which is 60 km/h.
Step 2: Identify the uncertainty in the measurement, which is ±2 km/h.
Step 3: Use the formula for percentage uncertainty: Percentage uncertainty = (Uncertainty / Measured value) * 100.
Step 4: Substitute the values into the formula: Percentage uncertainty = (2 / 60) * 100.
Step 5: Calculate the division: 2 divided by 60 equals 0.0333.
Step 6: Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage: 0.0333 * 100 equals 3.33.
Step 7: Conclude that the percentage uncertainty is 3.33%.
Percentage Uncertainty – The concept of percentage uncertainty involves calculating the uncertainty of a measurement as a percentage of the measured value, which helps in understanding the reliability of the measurement.
