Absolute and Percentage Uncertainties and Rules for Calculations Slideshow (lite)

A Keynote¹ presentation for introducing students to handling the most common experimental uncertainties in science measurements (addition/subtraction, multiplication/division and indices). Topics covered are: types of error (systematic and random), absolute and percentage uncertainty, and rules for determining uncertainty in calculated values. There is a sample of three exam questions - one for each rule.

The full version of the slideshow has in addition to the above:

• All five uncertainty calculation rules – multiplication by coefficients and calculation with complex functions (trig and logs).
• An explanation of uncertainty in handheld stopwatches.
• More examples - notably an example question with full worked solution for each calculation rule.
• More exam questions - a total of three questions per rule.

¹ Keynote works on iPhones, iPads, Macs and in many web browsers. Check your device against Apple’s latest guidance.