Uncertainty Review Guide

Taylor, “An Introduction to Error Analysis.”

You are expected to be able to use all of these concepts.

Significant Figures:

Basic Sig Figs: Sect 2.1-2.3

Uncertainty more accurate than sig figs: Sect 2.8

Propagation of errors:

Add/Subtract: Sect. 3.5 Eqn. 3.16

Multiply/Divide: Sect. 3.6 Eqn. 3.18

Function of 1 Variable: Sect. 3.7 Eqn. 3.23

“Chain Rule”, Dominant Errors: Sect. 3.8

Standard Deviations:

Counting Statistics: Sect. 3.2 Eqn. 3.2

Standard Deviation: Sect. 4.2, 4.3 use calculator

Standard Error (Stand. Dev. of the Mean) Sect. 4.4 Eqn. 4.14

Systematic Errors: Sect. 4.1, 4.6

Advanced Topics (Look up when necessary)

Rejecting Data: Ch. 6

Weighted Average: Ch. 7