Question

An infant’s pulse rate is measured to be 130 ± 5 beats/min. What is the percent uncertainty in this measurement?

a) 3.85%
b) 3.70%
c) 3.90%
d) 3.95%

Answer 1

option (a).

To find the percent uncertainty of the infant's pulse rate, divide the uncertainty (5 beats/min) by the actual value (130 beats/min), and multiply by 100. So, the percent uncertainty is 3.85%.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the percent uncertainty of the infant's pulse rate, you divide the uncertainty by the measured value and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage. Here, the pulse rate is 130 beats/min with an uncertainty of ± 5 beats/min.

The calculation looks like this:

• Percent uncertainty = (Uncertainty ÷ Measured Value) × 100%
• Percent uncertainty = (5 ÷ 130) × 100%
• Percent uncertainty = 0.03846 × 100%
• Percent uncertainty = 3.846%

When rounded to two decimal places, the percent uncertainty is 3.85%, which corresponds to option (a).