Data Analysis for Physical Scientists: Featuring Excel®

528 Pages·2012·4.164 MB·English

by  Les Kirkup

DATA ANALYSIS FOR PHYSICAL SCIENTISTS:
FEATURING EXCEL
Theabilitytosummarisedata,comparemodelsandapply
computer-basedanalysistoolsarevitalskillsnecessaryforstudyingand
workinginthephysicalsciences.Thistextbooksupportsundergraduate
studentsastheydevelopandenhancetheseskills.
Introducingdataanalysistechniques,thistextbookpaysparticular
attentiontotheinternationallyrecognisedguidelinesforcalculatingand
expressingmeasurementuncertainty.Thisneweditionhasbeenrevisedto
incorporateExcel®2010.Italsoprovidesapracticalapproachtofittingmodels
todatausingnon-linearleastsquares,apowerfultechniquethatcanbeapplied
tomanytypesofmodel.
Workedexamplesusingactualexperimentaldatahelpstudents
understandhowthecalculationsapplytorealsituations.Over200
in-textexercisesandendofchapterproblemsgivestudentstheopportunityto
usethetechniquesthemselvesandgainconfidenceinapplyingthem.Answers
totheexercisesandproblemsaregivenattheendofthebook.
LES KIRKUP isanAssociateProfessorintheSchoolofPhysicsand
AdvancedMaterials,UniversityofTechnology,Sydney.Heisalsoan
AustralianLearningandTeachingCouncilNationalTeachingFellow.
Adedicatedlecturer,manyofhiseducationaldevelopmentshavefocusedon
enhancingthelaboratoryexperienceofundergraduatestudents.

Data Analysis for
Physical Scientists
®
Featuring Excel
Les Kirkup
University ofTechnology,Sydney
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
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PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521883726
©L.Kirkup2012
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Kirkup,Les.
Dataanalysisforphysicalscientists:featuringExcel/LesKirkup.–2nded.
p. cm.
Rev.ed.of:DataanalysiswithExcel.2002.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-521-88372-6
1. Research–Statisticalmethods–Dataprocessing. 2. Electronicspreadsheets. 3. Microsoft
Excel(Computerfile) I. Kirkup,Les.DataanalysiswithExcel. II. Title.
Q180.55.S7K57 2012
502.850554–dc23
2011017662
ISBN978-0-521-88372-6Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
ToJanet,SarahandAmy
neemorelateneets!

Contents
Prefacetothesecondedition pagexi
Prefacetothefirstedition xiii
1 Introductiontoscientificdataanalysis 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Scientificexperimentation 2
1.3 Thevocabularyofmeasurement 5
1.4 Unitsandstandards 6
1.5 Picturingexperimentaldata 13
1.6 Keynumberssummariseexperimentaldata 21
1.7 Populationandsample 26
1.8 Experimentalerror 33
1.9 Moderntoolsofdataanalysis–thecomputerbasedspreadsheet 35
1.10 Review 35
Endofchapterproblems 36
2 Excelanddataanalysis 40
2.1 Introduction 40
2.2 Whatisaspreadsheet? 41
2.3 IntroductiontoExcel 42
2.4 Builtinmathematicalfunctions 62
2.5 Builtinstatisticalfunctions 64
2.6 Presentationoptions 68
2.7 ChartsinExcel 70
vii
viii CONTENTS
2.8 Dataanalysistools 77
2.9 Review 84
Endofchapterproblems 84
3 DatadistributionsI 90
3.1 Introduction 90
3.2 Probability 91
3.3 Probabilitydistributions 93
3.4 Distributionsofrealdata 98
3.5 Thenormaldistribution 101
3.6 Fromareaunderanormalcurvetoaninterval 111
3.7 Distributionofsamplemeans 119
3.8 Thecentrallimittheorem 121
3.9 Thetdistribution 126
3.10 Thelog-normaldistribution 133
3.11 Assessingthenormalityofdata 135
3.12 Populationmeanandcontinuousdistributions 137
3.13 Populationmeanandexpectationvalue 139
3.14 Review 140
Endofchapterproblems 140
4 DatadistributionsII 146
4.1 Introduction 146
4.2 Thebinomialdistribution 146
4.3 ThePoissondistribution 157
4.4 Review 165
Endofchapterproblems 165
5 Measurement,erroranduncertainty 168
5.1 Introduction 168
5.2 Theprocessofmeasurement 171
5.3 Truevalueanderror 174
5.4 Precisionandaccuracy 176
5.5 Randomandsystematicerrors 177
5.6 Randomerrors 178
5.7 Uncertaintyinmeasurement 189
5.8 Combininguncertainties 199
5.9 Expandeduncertainty 208
5.10 Relativestandarduncertainty 213
5.11 Copingwithoutliers 214
5.12 Weightedmean 218