Archimedes Revisited: A Faster, Better, Cheaper Method of Accurately Measuring the Volume of Small Objects

Autor/in	Hughes, Stephen W.
Titel	Archimedes Revisited: A Faster, Better, Cheaper Method of Accurately Measuring the Volume of Small Objects
Quelle	In: Physics Education, 40 (2005) 5, S.468-474 (7 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0031-9120
Schlagwörter	Science Activities; Science Instruction; Physics; Measurement Techniques; Teaching Methods + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Physik; Messtechnik; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode
Abstract	A little-known method of measuring the volume of small objects based on Archimedes' principle is described, which involves suspending an object in a water-filled container placed on electronic scales. The suspension technique is a variation on the hydrostatic weighing technique used for measuring volume. The suspension method was compared with two other traditional water displacement methods of measuring volume, i.e. placing an object in a measuring cylinder and recording the rise in the water level and immersing the object in a water-filled container with an overflow spout to record the volume of overflow. The accuracy and precision of the three methods was compared using ten accurately machined PVC cylinders ranging in volume from 1.5 to 15.7 ml. The mean difference between the actual and measured volumes was 3.3 plus or minus 7.3%, -1.6 plus or minus 7.2% and 0.03 plus or minus 0.45%, for the level, overflow and suspension methods respectively. Each measurement was repeated twice to obtain the reproducibility of the three displacement techniques. The reproducibility was -1.7 plus or minus 8.5%, 0.09 plus or minus 3% and -0.04 plus or minus 0.43% or the level, overflow and suspension techniques respectively. The results show that the suspension technique is more accurate and precise than the traditional water displacement methods and is more accurate than measuring volume using Vernier calliper measurements. (Author).
Anmerkungen	Institute of Physics Publishing, Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6BE, United Kingdom. E-mail: custserv@iop.org; Web site: http://journals.iop.org.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10