BRAINCAKEUncertainty in a Gradient and Intercept
When a gradient or y-intercept gives a physical quantity, the best-fit and worst-fit lines give its uncertainty.
Uncertainty in the gradient: the absolute uncertainty is the difference between the gradients of the best-fit and worst-fit lines.
percentage uncertainty = (|best gradient − worst gradient| ÷ best gradient) × 100%
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Key terms in this lesson
- absolute uncertainty
- The uncertainty in a measurement, expressed with the same units as the measurement itself.
- percentage uncertainty
- The absolute uncertainty in a measurement expressed as a percentage of the measured value.
- best-fit line
- The straight line or smooth curve on a graph that best represents the trend of the plotted data points.
More in Measurements and Uncertainties
- Combining Uncertainties
- Uncertainties from Repeated Readings
- Plotting Graphs
- Error Bars
- Best-fit and Worst-fit Lines
- Straight-line Graphs y = mx + c
- Logarithmic Graphs
- Estimating Physical Quantities
All 12 lessons in Measurements and Uncertainties · All OCR AS-level Physics topics