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Errors No measurement is exact, they all contain some degree of errors. Types of errors: - Blunder
- A gross mistake caused by carelessness or poor judgement.
- e.g. when recording a distance you write 3.01m instead of 3.1m
- Erratic Error
- An error caused by an incomplete element in an instrument.
- e.g. backlash in a gear train.
- Inherited Error
- The error in initial values used in a computation; especially the error introduced from the previous steps in a step-by-step integration.
- Mistake
- An error, usually large, resulting from a human failing or an equipment malfunction.
- Random Errors
- Errors that remain after blunders and systematic errors have been removed. They are caused by factors beyond the control of the observers. They tend to be compensating in nature.
- e.g. estimating readings on a level rod.
- Systematic Errors
- Cumulative errors that can be compensated for, if the errors are known.
- e.g. the tape measure being used to make the measurements is incorrect.
 
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