course Phy202 E???t??y?w??d??assignment #001
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16:55:53 Most queries in this course will ask you questions about class notes, readings, text problems and experiments. Since the first two assignments have been experiments, the first two queries are related to the experiments. While the remaining queries in this course are in question-answer format, the first two will be in the form of open-ended questions. Interpret these questions and answer them as best you can.
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RESPONSE -->
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16:58:38 Suppose you measure the length of a pencil. You use both a triply-reduced ruler and the original ruler itself, and you make your measurements accurate to the smallest mark on each. You then multiply the reading on the triply-reduced ruler by the appropriate scale factor. Which result is likely to be closer to the actual length of the pencil? What factors do you have to consider in order to answer this question and how do they weigh into your final answer?
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RESPONSE --> The triply reduced will be more accurate since one can measure using smaller increments. confidence assessment: 1
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17:00:24 Answer the same question as before, except assume that the triply-reduced ruler has no optical distortion and you know the scale factor accurate to 4 significant figures.
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RESPONSE --> The triply since the increments are smaller. There is more room for error on the standard ruler. confidence assessment: 1
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17:04:14 Suppose you are to measure the length of a rubber band whose original length is around 10 cm, measuring once while the rubber band supports the weight of a small apple and again when it supports the weight of two small apples. You are asked to report as accurately as possible the difference in the two lengths, which is somewhere between 1 cm and 2 cm. You have available the singly-reduced copy and the triply-reduced copy, and your data from the optical distortion experiment. Which ruler will be likely to give you the more accurate difference in the lengths? Explain what factors you considered and how they influence your final answer.
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RESPONSE --> I suppose the standard ruler since anything below a millimeter would be hard to see. The triply reduced increments would be so small that some inaccuracy may be introduced. confidence assessment: 1
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17:28:40 Later in the course you will observe how the depth of water in a uniform cylinder changes as a function of time, when water flows from a hole near the bottom of the cylinder. Suppose these measurements are made by taping a triply-reduced ruler to the side of a transparent cylinder, and observing the depth of the water at regular 3-second intervals. {}{}The resulting data would consist of a table of water depth vs. clock times, with clock times 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, ... seconds. As depth decreases the water flows from the hole more and more slowly, so the depth changes less and less quickly with respect to clock time. {}{}Experimental uncertainties would occur due to the optical distortion of the copied rulers, due to the the spacing between marks on the rulers, due to limitations on your ability to read the ruler (your eyes are only so good), due to timing errors, and due to other possible factors. {}{}Suppose that depth changes vary from 5 cm to 2 cm over the first six 3-second intervals. {}{}Assume also that the timing was very precise, so that there were no significant uncertainties due to timing. Based on what you have learned in experiments done in Assignments 0 and 1, without doing extensive mathematical analysis, estimate how much uncertainty would be expected in the observed depths, and briefly explain the basis for your estimates. Speculate also on how much uncertainty would result in first-difference calculations done with the depth vs. clock time data, and how much in second-difference calculations. {}{}How would these uncertainties affect a graph of first difference vs. midpoint clock time, and on a graph of second difference vs. midpoint clock time? {}How reliably do you think the first-difference graph would predict the actual behavior of the first difference? {}Answer the same for the second-difference graph. {}{}What do you think the first difference tells you about the system? What about the second difference?
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RESPONSE --> There would be more variance between the second difference than the first, however the span of the range of the second would be smaller than the first. The graph of the second is more scattered. The first differenc graph would look more like a line segment graph than a curve. The second difference graph would have data points scattered over it. The graphs tell the variance of a given point to the actual curve at set clock time. confidence assessment: 0
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17:32:15 Suppose the actual second-difference behavior of the depth vs. clock time is in fact linear. How nearly do you think you could estimate the slope of that graph from data taken as indicated above (e.g., within 1% of the correct slope, within 10%, within 30%, or would no slope be apparent in the second-difference graph)? Again no extensive analysis is expected, but give a brief synopsis of how you considered various effects in arriving at your estimate.
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RESPONSE --> Withing 1% by reversing the process. Since the difference was 1/10 of the original difference which was 1/10 of the original line, one could reverse the process to find the original line. confidence assessment: 0
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