Question

1. measure the mass of the copper block.
2. so what does this tell us about a measurement? lets look at an example.

suppose a metal block is placed on a digital balance and the display shows a mass of 53 g. since repeated measurements are not practical in this scenario, the uncertainty can be estimated based on the precision of the instrument. this means the last digit has some uncertainty associated with it. since this balance measures out to the ones place, the uncertainty for the instrument is ± 1 g. taking this uncertainty into account, when the mass is recorded as 53 g the mass of the metal block could be between 52 g and 54 g.

1. you measured the mass of the copper block to be student response g.

determine the range of masses this copper block could be accounting for the uncertainty in the last digit.
lower value g - upper value g
150.9
i need a hint
score: 1/1
comments:
< 1 / ∞ submissions used
150.8
151
149
150.95
150.85
151.0

Explanation:

Step1: Identify uncertainty principle

The uncertainty for the instrument is ± 0.1 g (since the display shows to one - decimal place).

Step2: Calculate lower value

Subtract the uncertainty from the measured value. $150.9 - 0.1=150.8$ g.

Step3: Calculate upper value

Add the uncertainty to the measured value. $150.9 + 0.1 = 151.0$ g.

Answer:

lower value: 150.8 g
upper value: 151.0 g