KNL 1453 Electrical Instrumentation

Chapter 1 :
Introduction to Instrumentation

KNL 1453 Electrical Instrumentation

Outlines

Function and Characteristics of Instruments

Measurement Standards
A Review on Electrical Units
Errors in Measurement
General Categories of Error [gross errors, random
errors, systematic errors]
Other Errors [absolute and relative errors]
Accuracy, Precision, Resolution and Significant Figures
Measurement Error Combinations
Basic of Statistical Analysis

Introduction
No electronic component or instrument is
perfectly accurate; all have some error or
inaccuracy
It is important to understand how these errors are
specified and how they combine to create even
greater errors in measurement systems
Apart form equipment errors, some operator or
observer error is inevitable.

Uncertainty estimation
When measuring physical quantities with an instrument
and obtain a numerical value, it is important to know how
close this value is to the true value.
(True value) (Measured value) = Error
Unfortunately, the true value is generally unknown. Since
this is the case, the exact error is never known. We can only
estimate error.

General categories of error

There are three general categories of error:

Error

Gross errors

Systematic errors
Random errors or
precision errors

a) Gross Errors
Undetected mistakes that cause a measurement to
be very much farther from the mean measurement
than other measurements.
Eg.

Simple misreading of an instrument

Misuse of equipment
The proper use of incorrect or inadequate equipment
Misrepresentation of data obtained

 To solve the problem ;

Trial and error (reading the operation manual and
experimenting).
- Since this approach is time
consuming, it is imperative that the
operation manual be read BEFORE
any instrument is used.

Following through a course or text in conjunction

with a lab experience ;
- The more equipment is used, the
more familiar the technician, engineer become
with it, and the more consistently valid
the resulting data will be.

b) Systematic Errors
Result from mechanical weaknesses of an instrument.
eg. Worn bearings on meter movements and
nonlinear sweeps on oscilloscopes
Determinate error.
Have an identifiable cause and affect the accuracy of
results.
Occur because the measurement system affects the
measured quantity.
To solve;
Diagnose the situation correctly and repair or
replace the defective equipment,
Recalibration or compensation for the error

Systematic errors

c) Random errors/Precision errors

Are errors that affect the precision of a set of
measurements.
Error whose cannot be directly established
because they appear to be random variations in
the electrical parameters of the measuring
system or device under test.
Scatters measurements above and below the
mean, with small random errors being more
likely than large ones.

 The deviation of the measurement from the

true value resulting from the finite precision of
the measurement method being used.
Instrument friction or hysteresis
Errors from calibration drift
Variation of procedure or interpretation of
experimenters
Test condition variations or environmental effects

Reduce random errors by conducting more

experiments/take more data.

Random errors/ Precision errors

 Systematic & Random Errors

Summarizing the
Differences

Absolute Error
Absolute error is the amount of physical error in a
measurement.

Exmp: A meter stick is used to measure a given distance.

The error is rather hastily made, but it is good to
1mm. This is the absolute error of the measurement.
Absolute error = 1mm (0.001m).
Absolute error = x

Relative Error
Relative error gives an indication of how good a
measurement is relative to the size of the thing
being measured.

Absolute Error
Relative Error =
x 100%
Value of thing measured

x
x

x 100%

Absolute and relative errors

Absolute errors

The uncertainty in a
measurement,
expressed with
appropriate units.
Also used to
expressed
inaccuracies.

Relative errors

The uncertainty in a
measurement
compared to the size
of the measurement.

Example - Absolute Errors

Given three replicate weights for an object;
1.00 g, 1.05 g, 0.95 g

The absolute error 0.05 g

Indeterminate
Errors ()

Given true value is 1.00 g, and the measured is 1.11 g

The absolute error
1.00 g 1.11 g = 0.11 g

Determinate
Errors (sign)

Example - Relative Errors

Given three replicate weights for an object;
2.00 g, 2.05 g, 1.95 g
absolute error: 0.05 g
relative error: = 0.05 g / 2.00 g
= 0.025
= 2.5%

More example.

Exercise I
A component manufacturer constructs certain resistances to
be anywhere between 1.14 k and 1.26 k and classifies
them to be 1.2 k resistors.

Determine the Absolute Error and Relative Error.

Accuracy, Precision, Resolution and

Significant Figures
Accuracy and precision
When a voltmeter with an error of 1% indicates
exactly 100V, the true level of the measured
voltage is somewhere between 99V and 101V.
Accuracy - defines how close the measurement is to
the actual measured quantity
Precision - with which the measurement is made is
not the same as the accuracy of measurement,
although accuracy and precision are related.

precision and accuracy

accuracy
Differences between precision

Exercise II

Inaccurate but precise

More example
The precision
is 1mV.

Reading shows 8.135V, if the increase and decrease of

reading is 1mV, the reading becomes 8.136V or 8.134V

Resolution
The smallest observable change of the instrument.
In the case of 10V analog instrument scale that can
be read to a precision of 50mV, 50mV is the smallest
voltage change that can be observed.

Thus the measurement resolution is 50 mV

Similarly, the digital instrument, the measurement
resolution is 1 mV.

Significant Figures
The number of significant figures used in a
measured quantity indicate the precision of
measurement.
Given
8.135 V how many significant figures?
4 significant figures meaning that measurement
precision is 0.001 or 1 mV

Exercise III
What if the readings indicate that the value you are
collected is equal to 5.23V ?
i. How many significant figures we have?
ii. What is the measurement precision?

Exercise IV
Given the voltage of an electronic circuit is 8.14 V, and
the current is 2.33 mA. Calculate the resistance of the
circuit in its significant figures.

Notes
No greater number of a significant figures
should be used in a calculation result than
those in the original quantities.
If the quantities in a calculation have different
precisions, the precision of the answer should
not be greater than the least precise of the
original quantities.

Prefixes of Units

Assessment I

i. Determine the mean

ii. Draw the distribution curve for these 2

Given the above two sets of experimental results A and B

obtained for a particular measured quantity.
i. Which reading is more precise and why?
Ii. Which reading is more accurate and why?

A component manufacturer constructs certain resistances to be

anywhere between 1.1 k and 0.9k and classifies them to be
1.0 k resistors.
i.

Determine the Absolute Error and Relative Error.