Scientific measurements have provided data for important issues, such as climate change. There is an ongoing debate about how accurate measurements are and how they were collected. A group of students collect a set of measurements and determine their accuracy.
A range of uncertainty shows how precise a measurement is but not how accurate it is. Accuracy is how close a measurement is to the true value. Precision is about the variability of a measurement.
When combining measurements with uncertainties, the uncertainties must be combined to create a range. The measurement is only certain to the nearest whole number.
For scientific measurements to have credibility, the uncertainty in data must be recorded. Scientists must consider questions about accuracy and precision when recording their data.
Credits: Measurements and Uncertainty
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Explaining the importance of measurement in science and the inevitability of uncertainty, this program emphasizes the need for multiple measurements and taking averages. It teaches how to estimate the range of uncertainty in measurements, discusses outliers, and differentiates between accuracy and precision. It also teaches how to manage uncertainty when performing calculations with measurements and shows how to express uncertainty in standard form. The program concludes with a practical exercise—measuring the diameter of the sun and then estimating the uncertainty in the results.
Length: 23 minutes
Item#: BVL150916
ISBN: 978-1-64347-746-6
Copyright date: ©2008
Closed Captioned
Prices include public performance rights.
Not available to Home Video and Publisher customers.
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