CRITICAL THINKING
Your friend states in a report that the average time to circle a 1.5-mi track was 65.414 s. This was measured by timing 7 laps using a clock with a precision of 0.1 s. How much confidence do you have in the results of the report? Explain.
2007-09-09 16:36:18 · 3 answers · asked by Venia c 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
The original measurements would have been
65.414 * 7 = 457.898 seconds, with a precision of 0.1 seconds.
So total time would be 457.798 - 457.997, or
from 65.39971429 - 65.42814286 for a lap.
The precision would be 0.1/7 or 0.014285714 seconds.
2007-09-09 16:52:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
1.5 miles in 65 seconds is about 90 mph so theres nothing badly wrong in the speed . With a precision of .1 sec per reading you either could be +or - .1 seconds in 65.414 seconds
or as much as +- 0.7 seconds if each lap is timed .
That does not change the result significantly, so I would be quite happy.
I dont know if they expected you to try calculating a standard deviation or not.
2007-09-09 23:50:30 · answer #2 · answered by mark 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Precision has to do with significant figures.
So if the watch has a precision of 0.1 sec, the average time can't be more precise than that. You can be the judge of the answer.
2007-09-09 23:41:04 · answer #3 · answered by cattbarf 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋