A calorimetry experiment needs a known mass of a dry powder
PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Scientific Practice & Experimental Methods · Thermal, Statistical & Complex Systems · Uncertainty in measurement
Thermal Physics, Ch Probability, random walks and the statistics of large numbers
Problem
A calorimetry experiment needs a known mass of a dry powder. The powder is delivered by a scoop whose contents vary: one scoopful has mean mass 25.0g and standard deviation 0.60g, and successive scoopfuls are independent of one another. Twelve scoopfuls are tipped into a hopper.
((a)) Find the mean and the standard deviation of the total mass in the hopper.
((b)) Find the relative fluctuation (standard deviation divided by mean) for one scoopful and for the twelve-scoop total, and state the factor between them.