Triangle Measurement Activity

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course Phy 231

9-7-14 11:50am

my measurements for the triangle were as follows: For side 1(the longer of the legs)-

7.45 cm_f

11.50 cm_s

17.82 cm_d

27.7 cm_t

For side 2(the shorter of the legs)-

4.80 cm_f

7.48 cm_s

11.62 cm_d

17.5 cm_t

For the Hypotenuse-

8.87 cm_f

13.82 cm_s

21.36 cm_d

33.10 cm_t

I then decided that my most accurate measurements each time were most likely from the legs.

So assuming that my leg measurements are correct. I calculated what the hypotenuse should actually be with legs of the lengths that I measured and compared them to my hypotenuse measurements with the ruler.

With the cm_f ruler my actual measurement was 8.87 and the Pythagorean theorem gave me 8.86.

With the cm_s ruler my actual measurement was 13.82 and the Pythagorean theorem gave me 13.71.

With the cm_d ruler my actual measurement was 21.36 and the Pythagorean theorem gave me 21.27.

With the cm_t ruler my actual measurement was 33.10 and the Pythagorean theorem gave me 32.76.

So from what I can tell I was most accurate with the cm_f ruler. I think that is most likely due to the limits of my vision, and the possible inaccuracy of the printer. "_____

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Good.

With a single set of measurements we can't draw any conclusions about which ruler is the more accurate, even for a single individual. Random chance has a lot to do with the results of only one set of measurements. To establish the result for an individual would require a fairly large number of measurements.

However one thing we find when doing this exercise with a larger group is that the cm_t ruler tends not the most accurate.

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