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Assignment 3+-+Propagation+Uncertainties

A student measured various parameters in experiments on electron charge-to-mass ratio, torsion wire rigidity, propagation of uncertainties in calculated values, attenuation of gamma rays by lead, and acceleration down an inclined plane. The student is asked to calculate values and uncertainties for charge-to-mass ratio, rigidity modulus, a calculated quantity q, attenuation coefficient μ, and acceleration down the inclined plane based on the given measurements and formulas.

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Azeem Iqbal
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113 views3 pages

Assignment 3+-+Propagation+Uncertainties

A student measured various parameters in experiments on electron charge-to-mass ratio, torsion wire rigidity, propagation of uncertainties in calculated values, attenuation of gamma rays by lead, and acceleration down an inclined plane. The student is asked to calculate values and uncertainties for charge-to-mass ratio, rigidity modulus, a calculated quantity q, attenuation coefficient μ, and acceleration down the inclined plane based on the given measurements and formulas.

Uploaded by

Azeem Iqbal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
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PHY- 100 Assignment

Assignment 3: Propagation of uncertainties

1. In his famous experiment with electrons, J. J. Thomson measured the “charge to


mass ratio” (γ = e/m), where e is the electron’s charge and m is its mass. A modern
classroom version of this experiment finds the ratio γ by accelerating electrons through
a voltage and then bending them in a magnetic field. the ratio (γ = e/m) is given by,
 2 
125 D V
γ= 2 2
.
32µ0 N d2 I 2
In this equation µ0 is the permeability constant of the vacuum (equal to 4π × 10−7
N/m2 ) and N is the number of turns in the coil that produces the magnetic field, D
is the diameter of the coil, V is the voltage that accelerates the electrons, d is the
diameter of the electron’s curved path and I is the current in the field coil. A student
makes the following measurements,

N = 72

D = (661 ± 2) mm
V = (45.0 ± 0.2) V
d = (91.4 ± 0.5) mm

I = (2.48 ± 0.04) A

(a) Find the student’s answer for the charge-to-mass ratio of the electron and find
uncertainty in it. Quote your results (mean value± uncertainty) units.

(b) How well does the answer agree with the accepted value (γ = 1.759 × 1011 C/kg)?

2. When a torsion wire of radius r and length ` is fixed at one end and subjected to a
moment c at the other, the angular displacement φ is given by,
2`c
φ= ,
nπγ 4
where n is the rigidity modulus of the material of the wire. The following values are
obtained,
φ
= (4.00 ± 0.12) rad N−1 m−1 ,
c
γ = 1.00 ± 0.02 mm,
` = 500 ± 1 mm.

1
PHY- 100 Assignment

Calculate the value of n and its standard uncertainty.

3. Suppose you measure three independent variables,

x = 12 ± 2

y = 9±1
θ = (40 ± 3)◦

Based on which you calculate the following quantity,

x+2
q=
x + y(cos 4θ)

What would be your answer for q and uncertainty?

4. If a narrow collimated beam of monoenergetic γ-ray of intensity I0 is incident on a


thin sheet of material of thickness L, the intensity of the emerging beam is given by,

I = I0 exp(−µL),

where µ is a quantity known as the linear attenuation coefficient. The following values
are obtained for γ-rays of energy 1 MeV incident on lead:

I = (0.926 ± 0.010) × 1010 γ-rays.m−2 .s−1


I0 = (2.026 ± 0.012) × 1010 γ-rays.m−2 .s−1

L = (10.00 ± 0.02) mm

Calculate the value of µ and its standard uncertainty for γ-rays of this energy in lead.

5. Consider a cart rolling down on an incline of slope θ as shown in Figure (1). The
expected acceleration is g sin θ. We can measure the actual acceleration a by timing
the cart past two photocells, each connected to a timer. If the cart has length ` and
takes time t1 to pass the first photocell, its speed there is v1 = `/t1 . In the same way,
v2 = `/t2 . If the distance between the photocells is s, then the well known formula

2
PHY- 100 Assignment

Photocell 1
l

s Photocell 2

FIG. 1: Acceleration of a cart through an inclined plane.

v22 = v12 + 2as implied,

v22 − v12
 
a = .
2s
`2 1
 
1
a = − .
2s t22 t21

One set of data for this experiment is,

` = (5.00 ± 0.05) cm

s = (100.0 ± 0.2) cm
t1 = (0.054 ± 0.001) s
t2 = (0.031 ± 0.001) s

Find the acceleration and uncertainty in it. Quote your value (mean value± uncer-
tainty) units.

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