Question

Inga and Aileen are measuring the temperature of frozen hydrogen. Inga is using a thermometer that has increments of 0.25∘, and she gets a measurement of 3.25∘. Aileen is using a thermometer that has increments of 0.125∘, and she gets a measurement of 3.375∘.Which thermometer has less uncertainty?

Answer 1

Measurement uncertainty is the result of imprecision in measuring devices. It is proportional to the size of increments of the instrument.

In our case, since the increments of Aileen's thermometer are smaller than those of Inga's, Aileen's thermometer has less uncertainty.

The answer is 'Aileen's thermometer because it has smaller increments'.