Combining Uncertainties I: Propagation of Errors
PREVIOUS: Rules for Significant Figures and Rounding NEXT: Combining Uncertainties II: Application An essential component of experimentation in science is to measure the response of a physical system to the applied external stimulus. These responses, in conjunction with existing theoretical models, are used to elicit properties of the system that are not readily obvious and to construct a deeper understanding of the system's nature. The validity of understanding attained through an experiment depends on the accuracy and precision of measurements made in the experiment. Various sources of errors such as systematic errors, random errors, etc. limit the accuracy and precision, hence the reliability, of measurements. We must be mindful of these errors when making inferences based on data obtained from any experiment. Errors that creep in during measurements are fairly straightforward to figure out. It is, however, not straightforward to know how these errors