Question

A good-quality measuring tape can be off by 0.50 cm over a distance of 20 m. what is its percent uncertainty?

Answer 1

The percent uncertainty can be calculated by the uncertainty divided by the total measure. That is,



Percentage uncertainty = uncertainty / reading



Percentage uncertainty=(0.5 cm * 1 m / 100 cm) / 20 m) * 100

Percentage uncertainty=0.025%



Therefore, the percent uncertainty is 0.025%.