Introduction to the Physics Laboratory

In this laboratory youll do experiments that illustrate certain physical

phenomena and give a glimpse of the experimental data supporting physical
laws. I hope you will also experience some of the thrill of discovery that is
the essence of physics.
Error Analysis and Graphs
Experimental data contains uncertainties, and in computing results from
them we wish to preserve the highest honestly allowable precision. Such
calculated results should give both the value found the degree of uncertainty
is this resultant value. Many methods achieving this are found in many
texts; a brief review of some of the simpler techniues is given below.
Types of Errors
Errors may be classified into two !inds, systematic and random.
Systematic errors are li!ely to be constant and in the same direction. "hey
are caused by faults in the apparatus or flaws in the observers techniue. It
is therefore freuently possible to discover them and reduce their
magnitudes.
#s an example where systematic errors would influence a measurement,
consider the measurement of length using a meter stic!. If the meter stic!
had a distorted scale because it was badly made, or its length varied with
environmental humidity or temperature, we would incur a systematic error in
our length measurements if we were unaware of these facts.
$andom errors are those errors that are produced by unpredictable and
un!nown variations in the total experimental process even when one does
the experiment as carefully as is humanly possible. "hese could be due to
fluctuations in the line voltage, temperature changes, mechanical vibrations,
or any of the many physical variations that may be inherent in the euipment
or any other aspect of the measurement process. "he good news with
random errors, as opposed to systematic errors, is that they can be dealt with
in a consistent, statistical fashion. If enough measurements are ta!en, a
histogram of the results should loo! li!e a bell%shaped curve &or '(aussian
curve)* with the mean, or true, value at the pea! of the curve.
Accuracy and Precision
"he central point to experimental physical science is the measurement of
physical uantities. It is assumed that there exists a true value for any
physical uantity, and the measurement process is an attempt to discover
that true value. +n the other hand, it is not assumed that the process will be
perfect and lead to the exact true value. Instead, it is expected that there will
be some difference between the true value and the measured value. "he
terms accuracy and precision are used to describe different aspects of the
difference between them. ,rom a scientific point of view, these have very
different meanings.
"he accuracy of a measurement is determined by how close the result of the
measurement is to the true value. ,or example, several experiments
determine a value for the acceleration due to gravity. ,or this case the
accuracy of the result is decided by how close it is to the true value of -../
m0s
1
. ,or several of the laboratory experiments, though, the true value of the
measured uantity is not !nown and the accuracy of the experiment cannot
be determined from the available data.
"he precision of a measurement refers essentially to how many significant
digits there are in the result. It is an indication also of how reproducible the
results are when measurements of some uantity are repeated. 2hen
repeated measurements of some uantity are made, the mean of those
measurements is considered to be the best estimate of the true value. "he
smaller the variation of the individual measurements from the mean, the
more precise the uoted value of the mean is considered to be. "his idea
about the relationship between the si3e of the variations from the mean and
the precision of the measurement shall be elaborated later.
4ets loo! at the following table of values acceleration due to gravity
measured by four students5
#lf dev 6eth dev 7arl dev 8ee dev
Measurement
9
:..; 9.</ -.=; /.1: ..:/ /./> -.:1 /./>
Measurement
1
99.<9 1.9. -.;. /.91 ..:= /./9 -..< /.9/
Measurement
;
...= /.=. ...: /.;- ..:: /./; -.:/ /./<
Mean -.>; -.1< ..:> -.:<
dev ? deviation from the mean value
@otice by the definitions of accuracy and precision that 8ees value of -.:<
is the most accurate while 7arls is the least accurate, and 7arls value is the
most precise while #lfs is the least precise.
@otice the interplay between the concepts of accuracy and precision that
must be considered. If a measurement appears to be very accurate, but the
precision is poor, the uestion arises whether or not the results are really
meaningful. 7onsider #lfs mean of -.>;, which differs from the true value
of -../ by only /.;: and thus appears to be uite accurate. Aowever, all of
his measurements have deviations greater than /.;:, and two of his
deviations are much larger than /.;:. It seems much more li!ely than that
#lfs mean of -.>; is due to luc! than to a careful measurement. If seems
li!ely, however, that 8ees mean of -.:< is meaningful because the
deviations of her individual measurements from the mean are small. In other
words, unless a measurement has high precision it cannot really be
considered to be accurate.
#n examination of the significant figures given in this data leads to
essentially the same evaluation of each students data. 7onsider #lfs data,
which indicates by the values stated for the individual measurements that
two places to the right the decimal point are significant. Aowever, that
conclusion is not supported by the fact that his deviations occur in the first
digit to the left of the decimal point. +n the other hand, 8ees results show
deviations in the second place to the right of the decimal point in agreement
with the fact that two places to the right of the decimal are given as
significant in the measured values. "hus from another point of view, 8ees
results are seen as meaningful, but #lfs are uestionable.
7arls results, on the other hand, are an example of a situation that is
common the interplay between accuracy and precision. 7arls precision is
extremely high yet his accuracy is not very good. 2hen a measurement has
high precision but poor accuracy, it is often the sign of a systematic error. #
systematic error is an error that tends to be in the same direction for repeated
measurements, giving results that are either consistently above the true value
or consistently below the true value. In many cases such errors are caused
by some flaw in the experimental apparatus, li!e not calibrating a device
correctly. #nother source of a systematic error is failing to ta!e into account
all of the variables that are important in the experiment. ,or 7arl, if all his
value were consistently below the true value, this might represent 7arl
forgetting to ta!e into account friction, which would indeed cause all his
values to be low. 6ut since his mean is well above the true value, this points
to a systematic error involving the euipment.
Percent Error and Difference
In several laboratories, the true value of the uantity being measured will be
!nown. In those cases, the accuracy of the experiment will be determined by
comparing the best estimate of the true value, or experimental value, with
the !nown true value. "his can be done by figuring the percentage deviation
from the !nown true value &as !nown as percentage error*. If E stands for
experimental value, and B stands for the !nown value, then5
In other cases a given uantity will be measured by two different methods.
"here will then be two different experimental values, E
9
and E
1
, but the true
value may not be !nown. ,or this case the percentage difference between
the two experimental values can be calculated, but note that this tells nothing
about the accuracy of the experiment, but should be a measure of the
precision. "he percentage difference is defined by5
Measurement and Significant Figures
4ets say that you need to measure the length of a piece of string with a
meter stic!. "he meter stic! in uestion has as its smallest mar!ings a
C 9// x
K
K E
error Percentage

C 9//
1
9 1
9 1
x
E E
E E
difference Percentage
1
]
1

centimeter. Dou measure the length and find that it falls about halfway 1:
and 1. cm. Dou estimate that the length is 1:.= cm, but the /.= cm is not
exact, but a guess, so you could report that the length of the string to be
1:.= t /.9 cm. 2hen a number is reported, typically the number of digits
reported is the number !nown with any certainty. "he uncertainty is
generally assumed to be one or two units of the last digit, but may be
different depending on the situation.
2hen counting the number of significant figures5
#ll digits 9 through - count as significant figures
Eeroes to the left of all of the other digits are not significant
Eeroes between digits are significant
Eeroes to the right of all other digits are significant if after the decimal
point and may or may not be significant if before the decimal point.
,or example,
@umber @umber of Significant
,igures
Fossible $ange of the $eal
Measurement
9.1 1 9.9 % 9.;
;.<9 ; ;.</ G;.<1
9-.<9 > 9-.</ % 9-.<1
/./9: 1 .//9< % .//9.
-.=/> > -.=/; G -.=/=
/.9/1/ > /.9/9- G /.9/19
Sometimes, the number of significant digits can be unclear. ,or example, if
we write
80
it is not clear whether the 3ero is significant or not. Is the measurement
between :/ and -/ or between :- and .9H
If you write ././, there are ; significant figures, because 3eroes to the right
of the decimal point are significant, so we would assume a range of ./.9 to
:-.-.
Ising exponential notation helps removes this ambiguity. ,or example5
. x 9/
9
means . &t9* x 9/
9
? measurement between :/ and -/
../ x 9/
9
means ../ &J /.9* x 9/
9
? measurement between :- and .9
..// x 9/
9
means ..// &J /./9* x 9/
9
? measurement between :-.- and ./.9
+ften you will have to mathematically combine various measurement values
with significant figures. "o ensure that the result represents the proper value
with the correct amount of uncertainty, these rules should be followed5
9* 2hen adding or subtracting, figures to the right of the last column in
which all figures are significant should be dropped.
1* 2hen multiplying or dividing, retain only as many significant figures
in the result as are contained in the measurement value with the least
number of significant figures.
;* "he last significant figure is increased by 9 if the figure beyond it
&which is dropped* is = or greater.
"hese rules apply only to the determination of the number of significant
figures in the final result.
,or example5 :=;.9 ;1:.1;
;:./. x ;<.:;
/.<-: 91/9-.9=. 91/1/
=<.;KK
.>:.9:: .>:.1 ..-/-/< ..-/-
;<.:;|;1:.1;
Propagation of Uncertainties
#ssume we have a function of two variables x and y, f&x,y*. "he variables x
and y are assumed to be independent in the sense that each can vary
arbitrarily without affecting the other. "o find the change in f due to small
changes in x and y, we calculate the total differential of f. ,or example, if f
is a function for determining area, f ? xy, then,
df ? xdy L ydx
@ow, dx is to be associated with our uncertainty in x, and dy with our
uncertainty in y. df will then be associated with our uncertainty in f
resulting from dx and dy. @ow a difficulty arises. 2e do not !now whether
dx and dy are positive or negative uantities since we have assumed the
uncertainties to be due to the randomness of nature. Since it is generally
best to assume the worst, both uncertainties are ta!en to be in the same
direction; hence
where the bars denote absolute value, and where we have changed our
notation to reflect the fact that our uncertainties are not true differentials,
i.e., we have made the identifications
"he uncertainty would be given by
and we would write5
>.9-.- t /.: cm
1
Aere are some formulas for finding the uncertainties in functions of
independent variables whose uncertainties are !nown5
,unctions Incertainty formula
@ote that this includes the commonly occurring cases of x
1
and x
/.=
y dy x dx f df , ,
x y y x f +
max
1
max
: . / //= . / .; . :; //= . / 1: . <= cm f +
y x y x f
y x y x f

+
* , &
* , & y x f +
y
x
y x f
y x y x f

* , &
* , &
y
y
x
x
f
f
+

k
x x f * &
x
x
k
f
f

Aowever, if f&x, y* is a complicated function of x and y, it is generally easier

to proceed by calculating f
/
? f&x,y*, f
9
? f&xLx*, yLy* and f
1
? f&x L x, y
G y*, where x and y are the measured values. &"he important point is that
x and y occur in f
9
with the same sign, whereas in f
1
they occur with
opposite signs.* "he uncertainty in f&x,y* is then given by the larger of the
two magnitudes Mf
/
G f
9
M and Mf
9
G f
1
M.
If you !now calculus, you can Nust determine the differential form of the
euation, and then divide that by the original euation.
The Mean and The Standard Deviation for Repeated Measurements
,or a set of measurements where it is assumed that only random errors are
present, the mean value you determine represents your own best estimate for
the true value for whatever it is you are measuring. "he mean is given by
the euation5
,or example, assume four measurements are made of some uantity x, and
the four results are 9..<, 9-.;, 9:.:, and 1/.>. 6y the above euation, the
mean value is5
Statistical theory, furthermore, states that the precision of the measurement
can be determined by calculation of a uantity called the 'standard
deviation) from the mean of the measurements. "he symbol for standard
deviation from the mean is . In a statistical sense, it gives the probability
that the measurements fall within a certain range of the measured mean and
is defined by the euation5
,or the data given, the standard deviation is calculated to be5

,
_

n
i x
n
x
9
9
( ) / . 9- > . 1/ : . 9: ; . 9- < . 9.
>
9
+ + +

,
_

x
[ ]

,
_

n
i
x x
n 9
1
9
9

x x f
x x f
cos * &
sin * &

x x f
x x f


* &sin
* &cos
Frobability theory states that approximately <..;C of all repeated
measurements should fall within a range of plus or minus (9-./ t 9.9, or
from 9:.- to 1/.9*. ,urthermore, -=.=C of all repeated measurements
should fall within a range of 1 &9-./ t 1.1, or from 9<.. to 19.1*.
Fictorially, the si3e of the standard deviation shows up in how 's!inny) or
how 'fat) the bell%shaped curve is drawn.
#s a final note, --.:;C of all measurements should fall within ; of the
mean. "his implies that if one of the measurements is ; or farther from the
mean, it is very unli!ely that it is not a random error and much more li!ely
to be a personal error &oopsO*.
Linear Least Squares Fit and the orre!ation oefficient
In many cases of interest it is assumed that there exists a linear relationship
between two variables. In mathematical terms one can say that the variables
obey an euation of the form5
where y is the slope of the line and b is the y%intercept &the value of y at x ?
/*. +ften, though, because of random errors, a graph of the data does not
display a perfectly linear relationship where every data point lies exactly on
a straight line. So it would be convenient to determine the value of m and b
that produces the best straight line fit to the data. #ny choice of values for
m and b will produce a straight line, with values of y determined by the
choice of x. ,or any such straight line, there will be a deviation between
each of the measured ys from the data points and the ys from the straight line
fit at the value of the measured xs from the data points. "he linear least
suares fit is that m and b for which the sum of the suares of these
deviations is a minimum. "he linear least suares fit process is also called
Nust linear fit or linear regression.
"here is a uantitative measure of how well the data follow the straight line
obtained by the least suares fit. It is given by the value of a uantity called
the correlation coefficient &sometimes referenced as r or $
1
*. "his uantity
is a measure of the fit of the data to a straight line with $
1
? 9.// signifying
[ ] 9 . 9 * / . 9- > . 1/ & * / . 9- : . 9: & * / . 9- ; . 9- & * / . 9- < . 9. &
9 >
9
1 1 1 1
+ + +

,
_

b mx y +
a perfect correlation, and $
1
? / signifying no correlation at all. "hus, if the
computer calculates an $
1
? /.--., this means the data almost exacts lies
along the least suares fit line; while if the computer calculates r ? /.//1
means that the data points on your graph probably loo! li!e a shotgun
pattern and the least suares fit line pretty much means nothing and that
your data is not actually linear at all.
Preparing "raphs
# graph is often a useful way to represent data. "his section outlines some
of the main considerations in drawing a graph.
Each graph should have a title, e.g. '8istance "raveled as a ,unction of
"ime), or simply 'v vs. t) if v and t are defined in the report. 8o not forget
to label the coordinate axes with the variables and their units. 7hoose scales
for the axes which will spread the experiment points over the entire graph.
(enerally, it is best to show the origin, but not if the data occupies a narrow
range of values far from the origin. 7onventionally, the independent
variable is chosen for the abscissa &hori3ontal axis* and the dependent
variable for the ordinate &vertical axis*. "he title traditionally is written as
'what is on the ordinate) vs. 'what is on the abscissa.)
If possible, draw uncertainty 'bars) on each of your data points. "hese
uncertainty bars are the graphical representation of the uncertainty in your
data.
+ften it is very helpful to fit a line or curve through your data points. "he
software programs Excel and +rigin :./ do an excellent Nob of this. 2hen
this is done, it is important to ma!e sure that euation for the fit is displayed
on the graph as well as the some sort of uality of fit statistic, li!e $
1
&see
above*. ,or the euation of the fit, it is important to change the variables to
those displayed on your graph.
4ets us consider an example. "he velocity of a ball undergoing constant
acceleration has been measured as a function of time. "he data are5
"ime &sec* Pelocity &m0s*
9./ ;./
1./ ;.:
;./ >.>
>./ <./
2e will assume the uncertainty for all data points to be t/.9.
"he graph &using Excel* is shown below5
+ccasionally it is helpful and0or necessary to extend the line or curve
beyond the range of measurements. "his is called an extrapolation and
should be indicated by a dotted line&s*.
Velocity of the Ball as a Function of Time
v = 0.7514t + 2.2086
R
2
= 0.9986
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (sec)
V
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

(
m
/
s
)
Laboratory Reports
"he following paragraphs will give you an idea of what a report should
contain and what it should accomplish. "he order in which the contents
appear is of secondary importance, but they must all be there, clearly stated
and in a manner suited to the particular situation.
"he purpose of a lab report such as this is to communicate fully and
coherently the results of an experimental investigation. Fersons outside the
immediate group performing the experimental wor! may be interested in the
results of your wor!. It is therefore important that these results and your
analysis of them be put forth in a form suitable for such communication.
"he effectiveness of this communication will depend on the clarity and
conciseness of your explanation of the wor! and the facility with which
desired material can be extracted from it.
#lthough there is no set universal form for reporting laboratory wor!, due to
the varied nature of experimentation, there are a few basic things which all
technical reports on experimental wor! should do. # lab report should at the
very beginning tell the reader what the experiment was for; what it
attempted to find out. Secondly, the report should inform the reader, in a
concise way, how the wor! performed is expected to accomplish this
purpose. "hirdly, where warranted, the report should display calculations
and analysis, charts, and figures, and at times significant raw data. ,ourthly,
and most importantly, it should inform the reader of the particular results,
their significance, conclusions which may be drawn from them, and the
Nustification of such conclusions.
"here are in general five maNor parts to a report even if a formal distinction
is not made between them. "hese are as follows5
9. Objective5 "he abstract tells the reader, when he0she first starts
reading, what he0she will find in the report if he0she reads it through.
In one or two sentences it should summari3e all topics presented in the
report.
1. Introduction/Teory5 "he introduction gives the purpose of the
experiment; it also indicates what principles are used, and how, in
order to obtain the results sought.
;. Ex!erimenta" Procedure5 "he procedure &which is often combined
with the introduction* gives either a statement of standard methods
used, or if the experimental method is of particular interest, a brief
description of that method. 8o not repeat material included in the
descriptive writings distributed for the experiment.
>. #esu"ts/$na"ysis5 Dou should always present5
9* sample calculations to show how you got any derived results;
1* figures and tables representing results either final or
intermediate; and
;* the significant data upon which your wor! was based.
$epetitive calculations and arithmetic should not be shown, but
samples of repeated calculations and any other calculations of
interest should be presented in such a way that it is clear to any
competent reader Nust what you are calculating, how you are
calculating it, and what the answer is.
=. %iscussion/&onc"usion5 It is important that final results and any
intermediate results of importance be explicitly presented in the
written body of the discussion. "he degree to which the intermediate
results should be included is a matter of Nudgment on the part of the
author. It is up to him0her to consider how well the report answers
any uestions which might arise in the readers mind.
Some analysis and interpretation of your results must be included to
give them meaning. "heir significance to the immediate purpose
should be shown clearly; and if they warrant it, one may include the
relationship of these results to the field in general.
7ertainly any report of experimental results must contain an
indication and0or discussion of the reliability of the results, including
a uantitative statement thereof. "hese reliability statements,
combined with theoretical considerations, form a basis for the
Nustification of your conclusions.