[Chm111-lab] Re: [CHM 111] Procedures for Lab Reports 1 and 2

[Andrew J. Pounds]

> I have a quick question for the lab. Many people on my hall have the same 
> question as well. The lab has an equation on it. Do we use it as in average 
> minus Student 1 (my own data) all over 5 b/c that is the number of different 
> data inputs we have. Or is it like (x1-average)+(x2-average)...(x5-average) 
> all divided by 5. or is it some other way. my hall is deliberating over these 
> two ways.
>
> Thanks,
>
>   
Okay -- lets think about this for  a minute.   The question you are 
asking concerns the part on the lab where you have places to record ____ 
± ____ data.
The first of these two blanks should contain the average.  The second of 
the two blanks should hold the average deviation (which is the equation 
found on the lab report form).  So if x1, x2, x3, x4, and x5 refer to 
the values found by students 1-5 and the average of these five values is 
is denoted by avg, then the average deviation is found by the last 
equation from your e-mail above with one exception -- you need to use 
the absolute value of the differences.

( |x1-avg| + |x2-avg| + |x3-avg| + |x4-avg| + |x5-avg| ) / 5

Does that help?

-- 
Andrew J. Pounds, Ph.D.  (pounds at theochem.mercer.edu)
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science
Mercer University,  Macon, GA 31207   (478) 301-5627