Measurement and uncertainties

1.2.1 State the fundamental units in the SI system.

Many different types of measurements are made in physics. In order to provide a clear and
concise set of data, a specific system of units is used across all sciences. This system is called the
International System of Units (SI from the French "Systme International d'units").
The SI system is composed of seven fundamental units:

Figure 1.2.1 - The fundamental SI units

Quantity

Unit name

Unit symbol

mass

kilogram

kg

time

second

length

meter

temperature

kelvin

Electric current

ampere

Amount of substance

mole

mol

Luminous intensity

candela

cd

Note that the last unit, candela, is not used in the IB diploma program.

1.2.2 Distinguish between fundamental and derived units

and give examples of derived units.
In order to express certain quantities we combine the SI base units to form new ones. For
example, if we wanted to express a quantity of speed which is distance/time we write m/s (or,
more correctly m s-1). For some quantities, we combine the same unit twice or more, for
example, to measure area which is length x width we write m2.
Certain combinations or SI units can be rather long and hard to read, for this reason, some of
these combinations have been given a new unit and symbol in order to simplify the reading of
data.
For example: power, which is the rate of using energy, is written as kg m2 s-3. This combination is
used so often that a new unit has been derived from it called the watt (symbol: W).
Below is a table containing some of the SI derived units you will often encounter:

Table 1.2.2 - SI derived units

SI derived unit
newton

Symbol
N

SI base unit
kg m s

-2

-2

-3

joule

kg m s

hertz

Hz

s-1

Alternative unit
Nm
J s-1

watt

kg m s

volt

kg m2 s-3 A-1

W A-1

ohm

kg m2 s-3 A-2

V A-1

pascal

Pa

kg m-1 s-2

N m-2

1.2.3 Convert between different units of quantities.

Often, we need to convert between different units. For example, if we were trying to calculate the
cost of heating a litre of water we would need to convert between joules (J) and kilowatt hours
(kW h), as the energy required to heat water is given in joules and the cost of the electricity used
to heat the water is a certain price per kW h.
If we look at table 1.2.2, we can see that one watt is equal to a joule per second. This makes it
easy to convert from joules to watt hours: there are 60 second in a minutes and 60 minutes in an
hour, therefor, 1 W h = 60 x 60 J, and one kW h = 1 W h / 1000 (the k in kW h being a prefix
standing for kilo which is 1000).

1.2.4 State units in the accepted SI format.

There are several ways to write most derived units. For example: meters per second can be
written as m/s or m s-1. It is important to note that only the latter, m s-1, is accepted as a valid
format. Therefor, you should always write meters per second (speed) as m s-1 and meters per
second per second (acceleration) as m s-2. Note that this applies to all units, not just the two
stated above.

1.2.5 State values in scientific notation and in multiples of

units with appropriate prefixes.
When expressing large or small quantities we often use prefixes in front of the unit. For example,
instead of writing 10000 V we write 10 kV, where k stands for kilo, which is 1000. We do the
same for small quantities such as 1 mV which is equal to 0,001 V, m standing for milli meaning
one thousandth (1/1000).
When expressing the units in words rather than symbols we say 10 kilowatts and 1 milliwatt.

A table of prefixes is given on page 2 of the physics data booklet.

1.2.6 Describe and give examples of random and systematic

errors.
Random errors
A random error, is an error which affects a reading at random.
Sources of random errors include:

The observer being less than perfect

The readability of the equipment

External effects on the observed item

Systematic errors
A systematic error, is an error which occurs at each reading.
Sources of systematic errors include:

The observer being less than perfect in the same way every time

An instrument with a zero offset error

An instrument that is improperly calibrated

1.2.7 Distinguish between precision and accuracy.

Precision
A measurement is said to be accurate if it has little systematic errors.
Accuracy
A measurement is said to be precise if it has little random errors.
A measurement can be of great precision but be inaccurate (for example, if the instrument used
had a zero offset error).

1.2.8 Explain how the effects of random errors may be

reduced.

The effect of random errors on a set of data can be reduced by repeating readings. On the other
hand, because systematic errors occur at each reading, repeating readings does not reduce their
affect on the data.

1.2.9 Calculate quantities and results of calculations to the

appropriate number of significant figures.
The number of significant figures in a result should mirror the precision of the input data. That is
to say, when dividing and multiplying, the number of significant figures must not exceed that of
the least precise value.
Example:
Find the speed of a car that travels 11.21 meters in 1.23 seconds.
11.21 x 1.13 = 13.7883
The answer contains 6 significant figures. However, since the value for time (1.23 s) is only 3 s.f.
we write the answer as 13.7 m s-1.
The number of significant figures in any answer should reflect the number of significant figures
in the given data.

1.2.10 State uncertainties as absolute, fractional and

percentage uncertainties.
Absolute uncertainties
When marking the absolute uncertainty in a piece of data, we simply add 1 of the smallest
significant figure.
Example:
13.21 m 0.01
0.002 g 0.001
1.2 s 0.1
12 V 1
Fractional uncertainties
To calculate the fractional uncertainty of a piece of data we simply divide the uncertainty by the
value of the data.
Example:
1.2 s 0.1

Fractional uncertainty:
0.1 / 1.2 = 0.0625
Percentage uncertainties
To calculate the percentage uncertainty of a piece of data we simply multiply the fractional
uncertainty by 100.
Example:
1.2 s 0.1
Percentage uncertainty:
0.1 / 1.2 x 100 = 6.25 %

1.2.11 Determine the uncertainties in results.

Simply displaying the uncertainty in data is not enough, we need to include it in any calculations
we do with the data.
Addition and subtraction
When performing additions and subtractions we simply need to add together the absolute
uncertainties.
Example:
Add the values 1.2 0.1, 12.01 0.01, 7.21 0.01
1.2 + 12.01 + 7.21 = 20.42
0.1 + 0.01 + 0.01 = 0.12
20.42 0.12
Multiplication, division and powers
When performing multiplications and divisions, or, dealing with powers, we simply add together
the percentage uncertainties.
Example:
Multiply the values 1.2 0.1, 12.01 0.01
1.2 x 12.01 = 14
0.1 / 1.2 x 100 = 8.33 %
0.01 / 12.01 X 100 = 0.083%
8.33 + 0.083 = 8.413 %

14 8.413 %
Other functions
For other functions, such as trigonometric ones, we calculate the mean, highest and lowest value
to determine the uncertainty range. To do this, we calculate a result using the given values as
normal, with added error margin and subtracted error margin. We then check the difference
between the best value and the ones with added and subtracted error margin and use the largest
difference as the error margin in the result.
Example:
Calculate the area of a field if it's length is 12 1 m and width is 7 0.2 m.
Best value for area:
12 x 7 = 84 m2
Highest value for area:
13 x 7.2 = 93.6 m2
Lowest value for area:
11 x 6.8 = 74.8 m2
If we round the values we get an area of:
84 10 m2

1.2.12 Identify uncertainties as error bars in graphs.

When representing data as a graph, we represent uncertainty in the data points by adding error
bars. We can see the uncertainty range by checking the length of the error bars in each direction.
Error bars can be seen in figure 1.2.1 below:

Figure 1.2.1 - A graph with error bars

1.2.13 State random uncertainty as an uncertainty range ()

and represent it graphically as an "error bar".
In IB physics, error bars only need to be used when the uncertainty in one or both of the plotted
quantities are significant. Error bars are not required for trigonometric and logarithmic functions.
To add error bars to a point on a graph, we simply take the uncertainty range (expressed as "
value" in the data) and draw lines of a corresponding size above and below or on each side of the
point depending on the axis the value corresponds to.
Example:
Plot the following data onto a graph taking into account the uncertainty.

Time 0.2 s

Distance 2 m

3.4

13

5.1

36

64
Table 1.2.1 - Distance vs Time data

Figure 1.2.2 - Distance vs. time graph with error bars

In practice, plotting each point with its specific error bars can be time consuming as we would
need to calculate the uncertainty range for each point. Therefor, we often skip certain points and
only add error bars to specific ones. We can use the list of rules below to save time:

Add error bars only to the first and last points

Only add error bars to the point with the worst uncertainty

Add error bars to all points but use the uncertainty of the worst point

Only add error bars to the axis with the worst uncertainty

1.2.14 Determine the uncertainties in the gradient and

intercepts of a straight- line graph.
Gradient
To calculate the uncertainty in the gradient, we simply add error bars to the first and last point,
and then draw a straight line passing through the lowest error bar of the one points and the
highest in the other and vice versa. This gives two lines, one with the steepest possible gradient
and one with the shallowest, we then calculate the gradient of each line and compare it to the
best value. This is demonstrated in figure 1.2.3 below:

Figure 1.2.3 - Gradient uncertainty in a graph

Intercept
To calculate the uncertainty in the intercept, we do the same thing as when calculating the
uncertainty in gradient. This time however, we check the lowest, highest and best value for the
intercept. This is demonstrated in figure 1.2.4 below:

Figure 1.2.4 - Intercept uncertainty in a graph

Note that in the two figures above the error bars have been exaggerated to improve readability.