- #1
imatreyu
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Homework Statement
In an early set of experiments, Milikan observed that the following measure charges, among others, appeared at different times on a single oil drop. What value of elementary charge can be deduced from these data?
1) 6.563 x 10^-19 C
2) 8.204 x 10^-19 C
3) 11.50 x 10^-19 C
4) 13.13 x 10^-19 C
5) 16.48 x 10^-19 C
6) 18.08 x 10^-19 C
7) 19.71 x 10^-19 C
8) 22.89 x 10^-19 C
9) 26.13 x 10^-19 C
Homework Equations
I have no idea. :( Doing this graphically is NOT an option. My answer needs to be 5 significant figures.
The Attempt at a Solution
I subtract each of the answers in the manner... B-A, C-B and so on. From this, I get two distinct sets of numbers. I take the average of each set of data and get 1.62525 and 3.2665.Then I divide the 3.2665 by 1.62525 to get approximately 2. Then I divide 3.2665 by 2 and get 1.63325. . .
I have no idea why that works! What am I doing when I do that? It was explained to me by a friend, but I don't understand why that works or what that is doing. . .