Finding Uncertainty Using Upper/Lower Bound

[AstroKeith]

Hello,

I'm working on a lab report and am having a bit of trouble when it comes to figuring out uncertainty.

Trial 1 Acceleration: 0.93 ± 0.14 m/s^2
Trial 2 Acceleration: 0.83 ± 0.35 m/s^2
Trial 3 Acceleration: 0.93 ± 0.14 m/s^2

I have three values listed above and and wanted to find the average of the three along with the new uncertainty of that value but I am unsure of what to doEDIT: Figured out the upper lower bound issue I was having. I still do not understand how to find the uncertainty in the average though.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[brainpushups]

The best method would probably be to calculate the weighted average by using the uncertainty in each measurement. See this http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2150/phys2150_sp14/phys2150_lec4.pdf if you have not done this before (or if you need review). The link also explains how to determine the uncertainty and there are a few examples.

 

[AstroKeith]

That was extremely helpful. Thanks so much!