Measurement Units

Fundamental Quantity
Arbitrary selected quantities (defined by
International System) by which all other
quantities are derived.
Length (meter)
Time (sec)
Mass (Kilogram)
Temperature (Kelvin)
Light intensity (Candela)
Electric Current (Ampere)
Amount of substance (mole)
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Electrical Units

Volt (1volt = 1joule / 1coulomb)

Ampere (1ampere = 1 coulomb / 1 sec)
Ohm (1ohm = 1volt / 1ampere)
Farad (1farad = 1 coulomb / 1volt)
Henery [1 henery = 1volt / (1amp/1sec)]
Hertz (1hertz = 1cycle / 1sec)

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Logarithmic Response Units

Absolute values of parameters are
associated with the individual
electronic components.
For a system designed by the
combination of these components,
the performance is usually
expressed as a ratio of the O/P signal
and I/P signal
Gain
Loss or Attenuation

 Ratios can be very large, so it is more

convenient to express in terms of Logarithmic
response unit.
Decibel; The dB (gain or loss) is based on
taking the common logarithm of power ratio.
Overall gain of the system is the sum of all
individual gain.
By using logarithmic scale, wide range of gain
or loss is compressed to a more convenient
range.
Electrical signal are more frequently measured
in terms of voltage or current than power.

 Decibel is not an absolute level, it may be

used only to state the ratio of a signal to a
reference level.
Decibel units with specific reference levels
have been established i.e. VU (volume unit)
and dBm (milliwatt).
Specific reference levels have been
mentioned in the table(2-4).
dBm scale is used when the signal is a sine
wave (1kHz).
VU(volume unit) is used in conjunction with
complex audio signals, such as speech or
music.

 Neper; Like decibel the Neper (Np), is

used to measure differences in power
levels.
Neper is based on Napierian
(natural), or base-e (e = 2.718281)
logarithms.
1 NP= 8.686 dB or 1dB = 0.1151 Np

 Accuracy; Measure of closeness with

which an instrument measures the true
value of a quantity.
Precision; Measure of consistency or
repeatability of a series of measurements.
A precise instrument can be very
inaccurate.
Sensitivity; Measure of the change in
reading of an instrument, for a given
change in measured quantity.
Galvanometer is more sensitive than DC
Ammeter.

 Resolution; Smallest change in the

measured quantity that will produce
a detectable change in the
instrument reading.
Digital voltmeter can measure to
three decimal places, the voltmeter
is then said to have a resolution of
0.001 V, or 1 mV.
Error; Deviation from the true value,
of the measured quantity.

 Range; Limits of magnitude over

which a quantity may be measured
i.e. if an ammeter whose scale reads
from 0 to 1 mA is said to have a
range from 0 to 1 mA.
Span; Algebraic difference between
the upper and lower limits of the
instruments range i.e. a -10 mA to
+10 mA galvanometer, the span is
then 20 mA.

Significant Figures
Figures that are justified by the precision of the
equipment being used.
Retaining digits; retain the last digit that is not
uncertain by the more than ten units.
Rounding of; last retained digit is increased by
one unit if the first dropped figure is greater than
5, or is a 5 followed by any other number other
than zero.
If the first dropped digit is a 5 and no figures
other than zeros follow it, then round off to the
even integer preceding the 5.

 Significant Zeros; Zeros that are not

significant, but which serve only to indicate
the position of decimal point, should not be
used in writing a value.
Preferred practice is to write the number in
scientific notation i.e. number of significant
digits multiplied by the appropriate power of
ten.
Addition and Subtraction; In addition or
subtraction, the answer should not contain
more decimal places than are present in the
number with the least number of decimal
places.

 When figures involving a range of possible

errors are involved in a calculation, the worst
case calculation is preferred.
Multiplication and Division; when multiplying
the two numbers that involve a range of
possible errors, perform the following steps:
1. Multiply the worst case values using the
positive limits.
2. Multiply the original two numbers.
3. The final result is the product of the original
numbers, whereas the possible range of error
is the difference between the product of steps
(1) and (2)

 When dividing two numbers (A by B), the

following steps are performed;
1. Divide number A plus its positive tolerance by
number B less its negative tolerance to get a
worst case answer.
2. Perform the division using the original numbers.
3. The final answer is the amount obtained using
the original numbers, while the range of error is
the difference between the answers obtained in
steps (1) and (2).
. When multiplying or dividing numbers that
involve percentage errors, it is generally
sufficient to multiply or divide the numbers and
then add the percentage errors.

Errors
All physical measurements involve
some degree of uncertainty.
A degree of error must always be
assumed for the measurements.
Measurements can never be made
with pinpoint accuracy.
To analyze any measured value,
consider the magnitude and type of
error that is possible.

 Systematic error; Due to inaccuracies in the

manufacture of an instrument and remain
constant with repeated measurements.
I. Zero error; All reading are in error by the same
amount.
II. Scale error; Depends on the magnitude of the
reading.
III. Response time error; Instruments inability to
follow dynamic changes in the measured
quantity.
IV. Loading error; Instrument extract sufficient
energy from the system under measurement.
. Calibration and correction factor may be
applied to each reading.

 Random errors; Observed when the magnitude

and polarity of a measurement fluctuate in an
unpredictable manner.
I. Rounding error; occurs when the reading are
between scale graduation, and the reading is
rounded up or down to the nearest graduation.
II. Periodic error; occurs when an analog meter
reading swings or fluctuates about the correct
reading.
III. Noise; Reading is altered by outside interference.
IV. Backlash; reading either lags or leads the correct
value because of mechanical play, friction or
damping.
V. Ambient influences; Due to variation in
temperature, humidity or atmospheric pressure.

 Gross error; very large errors and

can be divided into major categories:
I. Human error; operator makes a
mistake.
II. Equipment fault; Due to faulty
equipment.
. Careful operator attention, cross
checking of results and frequent
equipment calibration is required to
minimize these errors.

Accuracies and Tolerances

Analog meters are usually guaranteed to be accurate
within certain percentage limits, called limiting errors.
An analog voltmeter may have a tolerance of 3% of
full scale. So, full scale reading is within 3% of an
accurate reading.
The magnitude of limiting error is determined using
the accuracy and full scale reading.
Limiting error is a fixed quantity that depends on the
full scale meter reading, meter measurements should
be taken so that the reading is as close as possible to
full scale reading.

 Limiting Error = Accuracy full-scale value

% Error = [Max. error/Scale reading] 100%
Accuracy of the digital meter is specified as a
percentage of the reading plus or minus a
given number of counts.
Frequency drift in oscillators is specified on
the basis of parts per million (ppm) at a
specified frequency (1 Hz per 1 MHz or
0.0001%).
Component Tolerance; Electronic components
such as resistors and capacitors normally
have a tolerance specified as a percentage of
the marked, or nominal value.

Probability of Error
Statistical methods are frequently used to
find the most probable value from a group of
readings taken from a given experiment.
Laws of probability operate only on random
errors, not on systematic errors.
Statistical analysis does not improve the
accuracy of the measurements.
For meaningful statistical evaluations,
systematic errors must be small compared to
random errors.

 Arithmetic Mean Value; Most likely value obtained

from a series of reading of a given quantity.
Deviation; The deviation from the average value is a
measure of, how far each measured value departs
from the average value.
Average Deviation; Measure of how much the data
is dispersed.
Calculated by adding all absolute values of deviations
and dividing this sum by number of observations.
Standard Deviation; Standard deviation represents
the degree of dispersion on either side of mean, and
is used to determine how widespread the values are.
If the SD is less than 10% of the average value then
then the average value can be considered a good
indication of the true value of this sample.

Graphical Representation
It is often useful to graph a large
number of readings versus the
number of times each reading
appears in the form of graph.
If all readings are taken with equal
care, and if all errors are random, the
graph will assume what is known as
a Gaussian distribution, or
Normal distribution.

Normal distribution

Normal distributions are a family of

distributions with a symmetrical bell

shape.
Narrower the bell, the more probable that
the center of bell represents the true
value.
It has tails of very small and very large
values which approach zero magnitude, the
further travelled from the mean.

 Mathematical analysis reveals that about 68.3%

of values drawn from a normal distribution are
within one standard deviation away from the
mean; about 95.4% of the values lie within two
standard deviations; and about 99.7% are
within three standard deviations.
If the curve is normalized in a manner so that
the area underneath the curve equals 1.o (i.e. a
probability of 100%), the probability that a
value will lie between SD is given by the area
under the curve between SD.
So, area will translate directly to the probability
that a measured value is between two given
limits.

The following lists the measured

values of 25 resistors having the
same marked value. Determine the
average value and the standard
deviation
for 1this.
92
93

94

95

96

97

98

99
100

4
4

Correlation Of Data
In the measurement process, sometimes we know the
relationship before hand; in others, we are not sure if
one exits.
Voltage & current relationship.
Thermocouple voltage & temp. relationship.
Determining the relationship b/w two or more variable
is accomplished by the method of least squares
regression.
Measure of how well these variables are related is
called correlation coefficient.
If coefficient of linear correlation is 1, indicates
perfect degree of correlation.

Least Squares Regression

An analytical method of determining the
relationship b/w the two or more
variables, if a relationship exists.
For majority of measured data, the data
constitutes a straight line in the
following form;
Y = mX + b
m = slope of line
b = Y-axis intercept, when X = 0

A laboratory DC voltmeter having a full scale

reading of 10V was checked for Calibration
against an accurate meter. The expected and
observed values obtained
Expected Value

Observed Value

4.10

5.95

7.89

10

9.91

Determine straight line equation.

Determine the actual meter voltage value, when lab. Meter
reads 6.2.

 When relationship b/w X & Y is found,

we are able to estimate the value of Y
without actually having to measure it;
called regression curve of Y on X.
Interpolation (min. and max. values of
X) is true.
Extrapolation may or may not be true.

Coefficient of Linear
Correlation
Measured data is used to best fit line,
not all of actual measured data
points, if any, will actually lie on the
line.
Linear correlation coefficient can
determine how well the least squares
regression line describe the
relationship.
Closer the value to either +1 or -1,
the more highly the data is