Measurements and Uncertainties for the new syllabus have been moved to the Tools section of the course. According to the Guide, these “skills in the study of physics can be assessed through internal and external assessment.”
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Even though it is unlikely that you will get multiple choice questions on the topics you find here, you are expected to be familiar with the material in this section and might find these exam-style questions and related video explanations helpful in your learning process.
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Therefore, we decided to include the same explanation for our Question Difficulty Levels and Questionbank Tips as you find in other Questionbank sections.
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We hope you find these helpful :)
Question difficulty level:
Basic
Moderate
Challenging
Difficult
Black Hole
Basic
Moderate
Challenging
Difficult
Black Hole
A bit more about difficulty levels (click)
Basic: Simple, usually one-step or definition-style questions to help you revise the basics.
Moderate: At the level of easier IB exam questions. Slightly more challenging than one-plane problems.
Challenging: Typical, medium-level exam-style questions to help you solidify your knowledge.
Difficult: This is how more challenging IB exam questions look like. If you can solve these with ease, you are in a good shape :)
Black Hole: Extra challenge for those with lightspeed thinking! Very few questions on your exam will be this difficult.
Tips on how to get the most out of the Questionbank
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On the questions, in addition to the correct answer (A, B, C or D), you will find:
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• A detailed, step-by-step Video Solution to help you fully understand the concepts used when solving the question.
• A lightning-quick Done Under 90 seconds explanation with shortcuts, tips and tricks to help you save time on Paper 1 multiple choice questions.
• Purple text at the end of all videos to help you remember general concepts (Video Solutions) or to give you exam-taking tips to boost your grade (Done Under 90).
• The thumbnail of each video is set as the worked solution of the question to help you revise these solutions at a glance, without having to play each video individually.
Question 1
Repeating readings in an experiment reduces:
Both random and systematic errors
Random errors only
Systematic errors only
Neither random, nor systematic errors
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 2
The radius of a spherical planet is X and the absolute uncertainty in the radius of the planet is \Delta X. What is the fractional uncertainty in the volume of the planet?
The side length of a square is measured to be y \pm \Delta y. What is the fractional uncertainty in the area of the square?
\frac{\Delta y}{y}
\frac{2 \Delta y}{y}
\frac{\Delta y}{2y}
\left ( \frac{\Delta y}{y} \right )^{2}
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 4
A student carries out an experiment to determine the speed of a toy car. The results of the experiment are shown on the graph.
What is true about the random and the systematic errors in the student’s data?
Random errors
Systematic errors
A.
Small
Large
B.
Large
Small
C.
Small
Small
D.
Large
Large
Answer
A.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 5
The mass of a car is 1000 kg\pm5% It is moving at a constant speed of 30.0 m s^{-1}\pm3%. What is the percentage uncertainty in the kinetic energy of the car?
8 %
11 %
14 %
45 %
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 6
The side length of a cube is 20 \pm 5 cm. What is the absolute uncertainty in the volume of the cube?
125 cm^{3}
625 cm^{3}
6000 cm^{3}
8000 cm^{3}
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 7
A student measures the base of a triangle as 20 \pm 1 cm and its height as 8 cm \pm 4 %. What is the fractional uncertainty in the area of the triangle?
\frac{1}{20}
\frac{9}{100}
\frac{51}{100}
\frac{11}{20}
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 8
The mass of an object is 5.0 \pm 0.1 kg and its speed is 20 \pm 1 m s^{-1}.
What is the percentage uncertainty in the kinetic energy of the object?
6%
7%
12%
25%
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 9
A point charge is placed in an electric field. The uncertainty in the electric force that acts on the point charge is 8 % and the uncertainty in the charge of the point charge is 4 %. What is the percentage uncertainty in the electric field strength?
2 %
4 %
12 %
32 %
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 10
The side length of a cube is 50 \pm 1 cm and its mass is 60 \pm 3 kg. What is the percentage uncertainty in the density of the cube?
4 %
7 %
11 %
13 %
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 11
The radius of a sphere is measured to be 10 \pm 1 cm. What is the best estimate for the absolute uncertainty in the volume of the sphere?
1 cm^3
12 cm^3
100 cm^3
1200 cm^3
Answer
D.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 12
Two masses, X and Y, are 62\pm2 kg and 28\pm1 kg respectively. Which of the following has the largest fractional uncertainty?
2X + Y
X – 2Y
\frac{3Y}{X}
4XY
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 13
The period of a mass-spring system that oscillates with simple harmonic motion (SHM) can be calculated using the formula T = 2 \pi \sqrt{\frac{m}{k}} where T is the period of the oscillations, m is mass and k is the spring constant. The percentage uncertainty in the period is 4 % and the percentage uncertainty in the mass is 8 %. What is the percentage uncertainty in the spring constant?
0.5 %
1 %
16 %
24 %
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 14
The graph shows a data set from an experiment.
What is the percentage uncertainty in the vertical axis intercept of the line of best fit for the data set?
30 %
50 %
70 %
100 %
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 15
The mass of a car is 1000 kg \pm 5 % and its kinetic energy is 200 kJ \pm 15 %. What is the absolute uncertainty in the speed of the car?
0.6 m s^{-1}
1 m s^{-1}
2 m s^{-1}
4 m s^{-1}
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 16
A student carries out an experiment to examine how the kinetic energy of an object varies with the speed of the object. The results are shown on the graph.
What can be deduced about the type of errors in the student’s measurements?
Random errors
Systematic errors
A.
Small
Small
B.
Small
Large
C.
Large
Small
D.
Large
Large
Answer
B.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 17
A box is in the shape of a rectangular prism. The length, width and height of the box are measured to be 5 cm, 10 cm, and 20 cm respectively. The uncertainty in each measurement is \pm 1 cm.
What is the absolute uncertainty in the volume of the box?
3.5 cm^{3}
100 cm^{3}
350 cm^{3}
500 cm^{3}
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 18
The volume of a cone is 30\pi \pm 0.9 \pi cm^{3} and its height is 100 \pm 7 mm. The volume of a cone can be calculated using V = \frac{1}{3} \pi r^{2} h where V is volume, r is radius and h is height.
What is the absolute uncertainty in the diameter of the cone?
0.01 m
0.005 m
0.003 m
0.002 m
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 19
A stone is attached to a metal rod and rotated in a horizontal circle. The centripetal acceleration, a, of the stone is measured for different rotational time periods, T.
Given that random errors were minimised during the experiment, which of the following graphs will have a straight line of best fit?
a against T^{2}
a^{2} against T
a against T^{-2}
a^{-2} against T
Answer
C.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 20
Two quantities, x and y, are related as shown on the graph. The vertical axis intercept of the graph is c and the gradient of the graph is \frac{1}{m}.
Which of the following equations correctly shows the relationship betweenx and y?
c = y - mx
c = my - x
x = my - c
x = my - mc
Answer
D.
Video Solution
Done Under 90
Question 21
In an experiment, the following values are measured and given together with their uncertainties:
a = 2.0 \pm x
b = 16 \pm 2%
c = 0.50 \pm 0.07
Then, H is calculated using the formula H = \frac{3a^{3}}{2 \sqrt{b} \times c}. For the values given above, the absolute uncertainty in H is \pm 1.8.
