In a series of measurements, the values of the acceleration due to gravity were $9.8\text{ m/s}^2, 9... | error analysis Q&A

Source: Extra Practice

In a series of measurements, the values of the acceleration due to gravity were $9.8\text{ m/s}^2, 9.7\text{ m/s}^2, 10.0\text{ m/s}^2, 9.9\text{ m/s}^2$ and $9.6\text{ m/s}^2$ . The mean absolute error is:

Options

0.12 m/s²

0.10 m/s²

0.50 m/s²

0.20 m/s²

Explanation

Find the mean: $g_{mean} = (9.8 + 9.7 + 10.0 + 9.9 + 9.6)/5 = 49.0 / 5 = 9.8\text{ m/s}^2$ . 2. Find absolute errors for each: $|9.8-9.8|=0, |9.7-9.8|=0.1, |10.0-9.8|=0.2, |9.9-9.8|=0.1, |9.6-9.8|=0.2$ . 3. Mean absolute error = $(0 + 0.1 + 0.2 + 0.1 + 0.2) / 5 = 0.6 / 5 = 0.12\text{ m/s}^2$ .