PHYS 261 Pre Lab Questions Question
and Correct Answers/ Latest Update
2025
A cell in an Excel spreadsheet contains $A$5. What does it mean?
Ans: 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)
Ans: Scatter chart.
In Excel, what is the Solver used for? (pick one)
Ans: Minimizing or maximizing a cell by varying other cells.
To run a macro in Excel, you need to first click on...? (pick one)
Ans: the view tab and then click on the macro button.
Lab 1
Ans: 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?
Ans: 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?
Ans: 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?
Ans: 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 .
Ans: chi squared= (xi- xtheory)/error in xi
and Correct Answers/ Latest Update
2025
A cell in an Excel spreadsheet contains $A$5. What does it mean?
Ans: 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)
Ans: Scatter chart.
In Excel, what is the Solver used for? (pick one)
Ans: Minimizing or maximizing a cell by varying other cells.
To run a macro in Excel, you need to first click on...? (pick one)
Ans: the view tab and then click on the macro button.
Lab 1
Ans: 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?
Ans: 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?
Ans: 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?
Ans: 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 .
Ans: chi squared= (xi- xtheory)/error in xi
