PHYS 261 Pre Lab Questions Q&A
A cell in an Excel spreadsheet contains $A$5. What does it mean? - =Cell A5 is a fixed cell.
Given an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate for a point, which type of chart in Excel will actually plot the
point at its Cartesian coordinates? (pick one) - =Scatter chart.
In Excel, what is the Solver used for? (pick one) - =Minimizing or maximizing a cell by varying other cells.
To run a macro in Excel, you need to first click on...? (pick one) - =the view tab and then click on the
macro button.
Lab 1 - =Teach you basic few things about using Excel to plot and analyze data in 261 labs
Only use scatter chart for plotting
Solver- minimize or maximize the contents of a target cell by adjusting some other cells that the target
cell depends on
You measure the length of the same side of a block find times and find b= 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.2, and
11.3. What is the best estimate for b? - =11.16 (take the average)
You measure the length b of the same side of a block five times and each measurement has an
uncertainty of \Delta b=Δb=0.6 mm. What is the uncertainty in the best estimate for b in mm? - =0.27
A block is measured to have a mass M=M=27 g and volume V=V= 5.07 cm3 with an uncertainty of \Delta
M=ΔM=0.01 g in the mass and \Delta V=ΔV=0.04 cm3 in the volume. What is the uncertainty in the
density in g/cm3? - =error propagation
, A block is measured to have a density \rho=ρ=2.685 g/cm3 with an uncertainty of \Delta\rho=Δρ=0.021
g/cm3. Find\chiχ2 when the measured density is compared to the accepted density of aluminum
\rho=ρ=2.70 g/cm3. See Appendix A for how to calculate \chiχ2 . - =chi squared= (xi- xtheory)/error in xi
You measure the lengths of three sides of a block and find a = 5.8 mm, b = 14.6 mm, and c = 15.9 mm
with an uncertainty of 0.04 mm in each measurement. What is the uncertainty Dv in the volume of the
block in mm3 ? - =Use uncertainty
Lab 2 - =Purpose; Show you how to measure uncertainty in measurements, how to do error
propagation, and why it is important to understand the uncertainty in measurements you make
If you find the five measurements are identical, you are limited by the resolution of the display
(uncertainty 1/3 smallest increment that can be displayed)
In this lab, the position of a cart will be measured using a sonic ranger. The ranger measures the position
by: - =emitting an ultrasonic pulse
A cart of mass m = 0.21 kg rides on an air track that is tilted at an angle of 8.2 degrees from the
horizontal. What is the magnitude of the total force F (in N) on the cart? (You can use g = 9.8 m/s2) -
=0.2935
A cart of mass m = 0.57 kg rides on an air track that is tilted at an angle of 3.7 degrees from the
horizontal. What is the magnitude of the cart's acceleration (in m/s2) ? (You can use g = 9.8 m/s2) -
=0.6324
A sonic ranger measures positions x = 0.03 m, 0.207 m, 0.318 m, 0.35 m at times t = 0 s, 0.1 s, 0.2 s, and
0.3 s, respectively. Find the average velocity between t = 0.1 s and t = 0.2 s. - =1.11
Suppose you measure g = 9.7 m/s2 with an uncertainty of \Delta gΔg=0.06 m/s2. Is this consistent with
the accepted value g = 9.801 m/s2? Hint: you need to find \varkappaϰ2, see Appendix A. - =!!!
Lab 3 - =Purpose: Study the position, velocity, and acceleration of a body that is acted on by a constant
force
A cell in an Excel spreadsheet contains $A$5. What does it mean? - =Cell A5 is a fixed cell.
Given an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate for a point, which type of chart in Excel will actually plot the
point at its Cartesian coordinates? (pick one) - =Scatter chart.
In Excel, what is the Solver used for? (pick one) - =Minimizing or maximizing a cell by varying other cells.
To run a macro in Excel, you need to first click on...? (pick one) - =the view tab and then click on the
macro button.
Lab 1 - =Teach you basic few things about using Excel to plot and analyze data in 261 labs
Only use scatter chart for plotting
Solver- minimize or maximize the contents of a target cell by adjusting some other cells that the target
cell depends on
You measure the length of the same side of a block find times and find b= 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.2, and
11.3. What is the best estimate for b? - =11.16 (take the average)
You measure the length b of the same side of a block five times and each measurement has an
uncertainty of \Delta b=Δb=0.6 mm. What is the uncertainty in the best estimate for b in mm? - =0.27
A block is measured to have a mass M=M=27 g and volume V=V= 5.07 cm3 with an uncertainty of \Delta
M=ΔM=0.01 g in the mass and \Delta V=ΔV=0.04 cm3 in the volume. What is the uncertainty in the
density in g/cm3? - =error propagation
, A block is measured to have a density \rho=ρ=2.685 g/cm3 with an uncertainty of \Delta\rho=Δρ=0.021
g/cm3. Find\chiχ2 when the measured density is compared to the accepted density of aluminum
\rho=ρ=2.70 g/cm3. See Appendix A for how to calculate \chiχ2 . - =chi squared= (xi- xtheory)/error in xi
You measure the lengths of three sides of a block and find a = 5.8 mm, b = 14.6 mm, and c = 15.9 mm
with an uncertainty of 0.04 mm in each measurement. What is the uncertainty Dv in the volume of the
block in mm3 ? - =Use uncertainty
Lab 2 - =Purpose; Show you how to measure uncertainty in measurements, how to do error
propagation, and why it is important to understand the uncertainty in measurements you make
If you find the five measurements are identical, you are limited by the resolution of the display
(uncertainty 1/3 smallest increment that can be displayed)
In this lab, the position of a cart will be measured using a sonic ranger. The ranger measures the position
by: - =emitting an ultrasonic pulse
A cart of mass m = 0.21 kg rides on an air track that is tilted at an angle of 8.2 degrees from the
horizontal. What is the magnitude of the total force F (in N) on the cart? (You can use g = 9.8 m/s2) -
=0.2935
A cart of mass m = 0.57 kg rides on an air track that is tilted at an angle of 3.7 degrees from the
horizontal. What is the magnitude of the cart's acceleration (in m/s2) ? (You can use g = 9.8 m/s2) -
=0.6324
A sonic ranger measures positions x = 0.03 m, 0.207 m, 0.318 m, 0.35 m at times t = 0 s, 0.1 s, 0.2 s, and
0.3 s, respectively. Find the average velocity between t = 0.1 s and t = 0.2 s. - =1.11
Suppose you measure g = 9.7 m/s2 with an uncertainty of \Delta gΔg=0.06 m/s2. Is this consistent with
the accepted value g = 9.801 m/s2? Hint: you need to find \varkappaϰ2, see Appendix A. - =!!!
Lab 3 - =Purpose: Study the position, velocity, and acceleration of a body that is acted on by a constant
force
