A pendulum is measured to have a length of 2.0 m with an uncertainty of ±0.1 m.
Practice Questions
Q1
A pendulum is measured to have a length of 2.0 m with an uncertainty of ±0.1 m. What is the relative uncertainty in the length?
5%
10%
2.5%
1%
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
A pendulum is measured to have a length of 2.0 m with an uncertainty of ±0.1 m. What is the relative uncertainty in the length?
Step 1: Identify the measured value of the pendulum length, which is 2.0 m.
Step 2: Identify the uncertainty in the measurement, which is ±0.1 m.
Step 3: Use the formula for relative uncertainty: Relative uncertainty = (Uncertainty / Measured value) * 100.
Step 4: Substitute the values into the formula: (0.1 / 2.0) * 100.
Step 5: Calculate the division: 0.1 divided by 2.0 equals 0.05.
Step 6: Multiply the result by 100: 0.05 * 100 equals 5.
Step 7: Conclude that the relative uncertainty in the length of the pendulum is 5%.
Relative Uncertainty – Relative uncertainty is a measure of the uncertainty of a measurement in relation to the size of the measurement itself, expressed as a percentage.
