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.
Gross Error
Undetected mistakes that cause a measurement to be very much farther from the mean measurement than other measurements.
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.
See also: Absolute Error, Arithmetic Error, Erratic Error, Error Correction, Error Detector, Gross Error, Inherited Error, Offset Error, Relative Error, Round Off Error, Round-Off Error, Standard Error, Systematic Errors, Truncation Error, Yaw Error.
Subjects: Chemistry General Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Physics