| Date | November 2017 | Marks available | 1 | Reference code | 17N.3.SL.TZ0.3 |
| Level | Standard level | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | 0 - no time zone |
| Command term | Suggest | Question number | 3 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
A student is running an experiment to determine the acceleration of free-fall g. She drops a small metal ball from a given height and measures the time t taken for it to fall using an electronic timer. She repeats the same experiment several times.
Suggest a reason for repeating the experiment in the same conditions.
With the collected data she determines the value of g to be (10.4 ± 0.7) m s–2. Researching scientific literature about the location of her experiment she finds the value of g to be (9.807 ± 0.006) m s–2. State, with a reason, whether her experiment is accurate.
Markscheme
«to reduce» random errors
to reduce absolute uncertainty
to improve precision
OWTTE
Do not accept just “to find an average” or just “reduce error”
Ignore any mention to accuracy
[Max 1 Mark]
as the literature value is within the range «9.7 − 11.1»
hence it is accurate
OWTTE
MP2 must be correctly justified
