Is our experimental value for gravity acceptable?

[Arshad_Physic]

Homework Statement

There was a Physics experiment that I and my friends conducted. The report is due in 5 days. We have written out our report, but there is one question:

Is the eror acceptable?

Homework Equations

The error we got is 2.02 %

The Attempt at a Solution

We wrote our answer "The percent error of this is 2.02%, which is acceptable, because the 2% error is negligible."

Is the 2% error negligible?

Thanks,
Arshad

 

[Pengwuino]

It really depends on the experiment, can you supply more details?

 

[RoyalCat]

For most intents and purposes, 2% errors are acceptable. They are not, however, by any means negligible. They're there to let you know that you could be wrong by so and so, and that if someone replicates your experiment and gets a result within that margin of error, then even though it isn't the exact same result you got, it still confirms your observations.

 

[Dale]

IMO, the question is a bad question. The error is what it is, there is no choice about accepting it or rejecting it, it just exists. It simply places limitations on what you can conclude from your data. Regardless of how small the error is it is never negligible in general, you always need to keep it in mind when drawing conclusions. But as long as the error is small enough to make the conclusion you are claiming with statistical confidence then your conclusion is safe.

 

[Arshad_Physic]

@Pengwuino,

We are doing gravity. The theoretical value is 9.8m/s^2, but in our experiment we received the value of 10 m/s^2.

@RoyalCat and DaleSpam,

THANKS! :) Ya'lls answers does makes sense a lot! :) I will change the wording of my answer! :)