Physics Help

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Steve Miller Band, Apr 17, 2007.

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  1. Steve Miller Band

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    I'm working on a lab and I need to determine the percent error, does anybody know how to do this. For the lab we had to find the specific heat capacity of brass by putting it in boiling water and then cold water and look at the temperature change.
     
  2. Glamorous

    Glamorous Level III

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    I'm not positive but:

    Actual-Theoretical
    OVER
    Theoretical

    x100 = percent error
     
  3. Steve Miller Band

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    Thank-you, that sounds and looks correct when I do it all. I was forgetting to subtract the theortical so I was getting 62%, but it was supposed to be -38%.
     
  4. bigjohn

    bigjohn Level II

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    found at http://www-ee.uta.edu/

    Percent Error =
    Theoretical Value - Experimental Result
    Theoretical Value
    X 100

    hope this helps
     
  5. mac_bubble

    mac_bubble Level I

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    lol im guessing this is high school math
    xD
    so complicated, but i cant wait to start doing it.
    just curious, what exactly do you use that for?
     
  6. Steve Miller Band

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    Not math, physics. We had to do a lab to determine the specific heat capacity of a metal. Then we had to calculate how much our error was. Because we already know what the specific heat capacity should be. Specific heat capacity is the amount of energy it takes to heat a substance that weighs 1kg 1oC. So like water is 4200J/kgoC.
     
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