Time intervals measured by a clock give the following readings: 1 . 25   s ,   1 . 24   s ,   1 . 27   s ,   1 . 21   s and 1 . 28   s . What is the percentage relative error of the observations?

Step-by-step solution

First, calculate the mean of observations, ⇒ A m = 1 . 25 + 1 . 24 + 1 . 27 + 1 . 21 + 1 . 28 5 = 1 . 25   sec , it means, ∆ A 1 = 1 . 25 - 1 . 25   s ,   ∆ A 2 = 1 . 24 - 1 . 25   s , ∆ A 3 = 1 . 27 - 1 . 25   s , ∆ A 4 = 1 . 21 - 1 . 25   s   &   ∆ A 5 = 1 . 28 - 1 . 25   s then calculates the mean of error, ∆ A m = 0 + 0 . 01 + 0 . 02 + 0 . 04 + 0 . 03 5 = 0 . 1 5 % error ∆ A m A m = 0 . 1 × 100 5 × 1 . 25