Answer: Increase, since the fixed instrumental error is now spread over fewer oscillations.
- A Increase, since the fixed instrumental error is now spread over fewer oscillations
- B Decrease, since timing fewer oscillations generally reduces human reaction-time error
- C Stay the same, since the least count of the stopwatch is unchanged
- D Become zero, since the period of a pendulum does not depend on the number of oscillations timed
Correct answer: A. Increase, since the fixed instrumental error is now spread over fewer oscillations
Explanation: The absolute error from the stopwatch's least count is fixed per reading, so dividing it by a smaller number of oscillations gives a larger percentage error in the period; timing more oscillations reduces this error.
The 7 SI base units. All derived units (newton, joule, watt, volt, etc.) can be expressed as combinations of these 7 fundamental units raised to various powers.
Concept context
SI base units, dimensional analysis, significant figures, and error propagation. The toolkit every physics calculation relies on.