A laboratory report states: "The digital thermometer displayed

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Scientific Practice & Experimental Methods · Quantities, units and the practice of measurement · Uncertainty in measurement

Measurement and Method, Ch The instrument: resolution, sensitivity, calibration and traceability

Problem

A laboratory report states: "The digital thermometer displayed 23.456 ∘C23.456\,\mathrm{^\circ C}. Since the display shows to the nearest 0.001 ∘C0.001\,\mathrm{^\circ C}, we quote T=(23.456±0.001) ∘CT = (23.456 \pm 0.001)\,\mathrm{^\circ C}." The thermometer's manufacturer specification is ±(0.5% of reading+0.3 ∘C)\pm(0.5\%\ \mathrm{of\ reading} + 0.3\,\mathrm{^\circ C}). Find the error in the quoted uncertainty, and give a correctly rounded result using the manufacturer's specification instead.

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