Query 1

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course Phy 202

1.5 hours, these take longer flipping from notepad back to web browser in order to see graphs, keeping your place, etc. Just adds up.

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Question: 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?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

I don't know what you mean by a triply reduced ruler.

I assume you mean it is reduced to .1 in marks. Or do you mean you shrunk the ruler to 1/3 of its original size. If using a shrunk ruler then, assuming it is legible, it would be more accurate

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It appears that the associated experiment was not included in the assignments.

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· What factors do you have to consider in order to answer this question and how do they weigh into your final answer?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

being able to read the reduced ruler accurately. Being able to correctly multiply by the scale factor.

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Question: Answer the same questions as before, except assume that the triply-reduced ruler has no optical distortion, and that you also know the scale factor accurate to 4 significant figures.

· Which result is likely to be closer to the actual length of the pencil?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The triply reduced ruler

most rulers are good to .1in, you would then have to guess the accuracy between marks

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· What factors do you have to consider in order to answer this question and how do they weigh into your final answer?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

ability to accurately read measurements

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Question: 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?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

if there is no optical distortion then the triply reduced ruler should be the more accurate

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· Explain what factors you considered and how they influence your final answer.

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

the triply reduced ruler should be able to give you the measurement to more significant digits as stated above.

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Question: 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 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 through Assignment 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.

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

?

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It appears that I also moved the relevant experiment to Assignment 2 and overlooked the need to modify this Query.

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· How would these uncertainties affect a graph of first difference vs. midpoint clock time, and how would they affect a graph of second difference vs. midpoint clock time?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

It wouldn't affect the first graph much, but the second graph would be affected much more, the uncertainties would distort the graph.

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· How reliably do you think the first-difference graph would predict the actual behavior of the first difference?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

I think it is reliable

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· Answer the same for the second-difference graph.

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

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· What do you think the first difference tells you about the system? What about the second difference?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

I think based on earlier experiment that the first difference gave us the average velocity between each point, the second difference wasn't very correlated due to discrepancies

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Question: 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)?

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

How do I calculate this?

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Again no extensive analysis is expected, but give a brief synopsis of how you considered various effects in arriving at your estimate.

your answer: vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

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I understand why you might have been confused about the assignment, which did not match this Query very well.

Things should smooth out on the next assignment.

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