Question

I am helping my daughter do her chemistry homework and am stumped by this one. I have a beaker that seems to count by 50s.

That makes uncertainty calculations awkward. What is the "next unit down"?

How should one calculate uncertainty for this?

Answer 1

When using a beaker that counts by 50s, the 'next unit down' would be 50 units smaller. To calculate uncertainty, you would take into account the smallest division on the beaker.

Step-by-step explanation:

When using a beaker that counts by 50s, the 'next unit down' would be the next unit that is 50 units smaller. For example, if you have a beaker that measures in 50 mL increments, the next unit down would be 50 mL smaller than the current measurement.

To calculate uncertainty for this kind of beaker, you would take into account the smallest division on the beaker. If the beaker counts by 50s, the uncertainty would be ±25 mL because the smallest division is halfway between two consecutive units.