A report presents a resistor's current-voltage data as follows

PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Scientific Practice & Experimental Methods · Uncertainty in measurement · Records, communication and the epistemology of evidence

Measurement and Method, Ch Writing the result, and the integrity of the data behind it

Problem

A report presents a resistor's current-voltage data as follows. The table heading reads "Voltage (V)

\pm0.01

" with entries

0.50,\ 1.00,\ 1.50,\ 2.00

, and the second column is headed only "Current" with entries

0.102,\ 0.201,\ 0.299,\ 0.401

(pairing the first voltage with the first current, and so on). The accompanying figure of the same data is captioned only: "Graph of

V

against

I

." In the experiment the voltage was set with a variable power supply, whose maker's bound on the set voltage is the

\pm0.01\,\mathrm{V}

in the heading, and the current was then read from a digital ammeter of resolution

0.001\,\mathrm{A}

, for

N = 4

settings. ((a)) Find at least four errors in the table heading and the figure caption, judged by the test that a reader who sees only the table, or only the figure, must be able to read every number with its unit and uncertainty and know which quantity was set and which was read. ((b)) Rewrite the table headings and the caption so that each stands alone.

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