Re: Error Analysis

[karshner@stmarytx.edu (Karshner)]

> What error analysis should Academic and AP Physics high school students
> be doing?  Thanks for any imput.
Roger,
        I sometimes wonder if college freshman are mature enough to understand
error analysis, and feel very lucky if I can get them to record answers plus or
minus some error after my course. For some it seems obvious and others I think 
still don't get the point, but do it to get me off their backs. With this
background I wonder if you can teach students a year younger and with a lot more
unbridled energy anything about error. If I were in your shoes I would probably
try to show them how an average of many measurements gets better results and
tell them that the standard devition key on their calculator give them an
indication of size of the error.
        I think the most valuable thing that students can learn in the
limited time available in high school labs is the connection between what
they calculate in problems and what happens in the real world.
Gary