Question

Three students independently measure the time it takes for a ball to roll down the hallway. They record the following times. Calculate the average and uncertainty with units. 17.33s 18.67s 15.98s

Average w/uncertainty _____+/-_____s

Answer 1

The average time is 17.993 seconds with an uncertainty of 1.118 seconds.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the average and uncertainty of the measured times, we add up all the times and divide by the number of measurements.

So, the average is (17.33 + 18.67 + 15.98) / 3 = 17.993 s.

Now, to calculate the uncertainty, you need to find the absolute difference between each measured time and the average time.

The uncertainties are |17.33 - 17.993| = 0.663 s, |18.67 - 17.993| = 0.677 s, and |15.98 - 17.993| = 2.013 s.

Finally, take the average of these uncertainties, which is (0.663 + 0.677 + 2.013) / 3 = 1.118 s.