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President Mercury
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How do you find the average value in an experiment when all it consist of is weighing a beaker and adding 10 mL of water three times to it?
Math Is Hard said:I am not clear on the procedure. Before each weighing, do you start with an empty beaker and then add 10 mL of water to it? Or do you add more water to the water from the previous weighing each time?
Math Is Hard said:That is a very odd exercise. At first I thought it was to demonstrate the margin of human error that you might encounter when weighing the same amount of a substance during consecutive trials, but I am not sure what this is trying to teach.
If you only want an average of the water weights I assume it is
(total weight - beaker weight) for each of the three weighings, summed up and divided by total number of weighings (3), but I better back off here because there might be someone who is more familiar with this exercise.
Did the teacher give any hints about what this would demonstrate?
ok, do you know how to compute an average (a mean?)President Mercury said:Well I figured the average value would be the weight of the beaker empty. Since that is the original state it is in. I don't think that I have to consentrate on the 10mL part and I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. I know this is vague but if the average value isn't given then where else could it come from except for any original state.
Math Is Hard said:ok, do you know how to compute an average (a mean?)
Math Is Hard said:yes, you can also compute a "standard deviation" from your weighings. Now is this a chemistry class or a statistics class?
The purpose of finding the average value in a weighing experiment is to obtain a more accurate and representative measurement of the total weight of the objects being weighed. This is done by taking multiple measurements and then calculating the average, which helps to minimize any errors or variations in the individual measurements.
The average value is calculated by adding all the measurements together and then dividing by the total number of measurements taken. For example, if you take 5 measurements with values of 10g, 12g, 14g, 11g, and 13g, the average value would be (10+12+14+11+13)/5 = 12g.
There are several factors that can affect the accuracy of the average value in a weighing experiment. These include human error in reading the measurements, variations in the sensitivity of the weighing instrument, and external factors such as air currents or vibrations that can impact the weighing process. It is important to minimize these factors as much as possible to obtain a more precise average value.
The number of measurements to be taken depends on the precision and accuracy required for the experiment. Generally, the more measurements that are taken, the more accurate the average value will be. It is recommended to take at least 3-5 measurements to obtain a reliable average value.
Yes, the average value is considered a more accurate measurement than a single measurement in a weighing experiment. This is because it takes into account any errors or variations in the individual measurements, resulting in a more representative value of the total weight. It also helps to reduce the impact of any external factors that may have affected a single measurement.