tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23903680.post4090999015164722022..comments2023-06-27T06:49:13.340-05:00Comments on Drew's Day: Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23903680.post-40856604150254343752011-08-11T11:52:19.837-05:002011-08-11T11:52:19.837-05:00Yeah, that was a GPD meeting I wished I didn't...Yeah, that was a GPD meeting I wished I didn't have to miss. I was busy putting family time ahead of physics time.Joss Iveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066226087706321541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23903680.post-37141651340477591362011-08-11T11:38:21.885-05:002011-08-11T11:38:21.885-05:00Joss, where were you last night when everyone else...Joss, where were you last night when everyone else was ganging up against sig figs? :-)Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546307689313619934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23903680.post-28936038146397033162011-08-11T11:11:28.126-05:002011-08-11T11:11:28.126-05:00Andy,
I like the idea of using the hand-plotting ...Andy,<br /><br />I like the idea of using the hand-plotting of error bars to show that a rule of thumb of roughly 2 significant digits on calculated errors makes good sense. <br /><br />One place where I am mildly strict about sig-figs is in formal reporting of results (papers, posters, talks) in my 2nd year and higher lab courses. I see sig-figs, units, proper citations, spelling and grammar all to be part of the same package. I'm reasonably loose with my rules for what is acceptable for most of these things, but there is a definitely a point at which one's use of 5 sig-figs on a calculated error or a grossly incomplete citation will lose a student some marks. In these courses I am trying to help the students learn scientific communication skills and adhering to conventions in their field is part of that.Joss Iveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066226087706321541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23903680.post-72901540610000725402011-08-11T10:02:36.282-05:002011-08-11T10:02:36.282-05:00Okay, I can live with that. At some point (for mos...Okay, I can live with that. At some point (for most physicists, at least) a calculation is going to be compared to a real measurement, and the two should be compatible with each other.<br /><br />I just prefer that this thought process happens earlier in the student's physics journey, rather than later.<br /><br />I'm not really a sig-fig nut job, I swear!! It just causes me to wince a bit when I get 10 decimal places on an exam question.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546307689313619934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23903680.post-39439554580304247732011-08-11T09:29:03.818-05:002011-08-11T09:29:03.818-05:00As an instructor, I don't mind the plethora of...As an instructor, I don't mind the plethora of digits on both the value and the uncertainty listed. However, the uncertainty helps one see which digits are not really needed. I would actually prefer students to plot the result as a point with error bars so they can see the physical meaning of the result. If they do it by hand, they'll see how careful (or not) they need to be. If they do it with some software package, the computer doesn't care about the extra digits.Andy Rundquisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04900696452285397726noreply@blogger.com