Measurement is the starting point of meaningful scientific understanding. Micrometers are common pieces of equipment used across science and engineering that allow object dimensions to be measured with a high degree of accuracy and precision. This can be vital for designing mechanical components or for experiments in which sample dimensions affect the outcomes, e.g. resistance or stress.
Use this experiment to find out more!
Download the file below for the quick guide for the Micrometer experiment or follow these brief instructions:
- Click on the rotating thumbscrew and drag up or down to open or close the micrometer, the further you move with your mouse the faster it will rotate.
- Open the micrometer and drag a sample into the gap between the spindle and anvil. The sample will snap into place.
- Close the micrometer around the sample with the rotating thumbscrew.
- Read width from the micrometer scale (see below for how to do this).
- Type width into the appropriate text box and click ‘Check’ to see if you were right (green = correct, red = incorrect).
- Drag a sample out of the jaws (or press ‘Reset’) to return it to its original
place and select a new sample.
You can also click ‘New’ for a fresh set of samples with different widths.
To read the micrometer scale (see full instructions for more details):
- Find the largest valued tick mark on the main scale that is revealed from behind the rotating thumbscrew. This gives a whole number of millimetres for sample width.
- Locate the tick mark on the rotating scale that is most closely aligned with the main scale axis. This gives the number of tenths of a millimetre in the sample width.
- Add the values from the above steps to find the overall sample width.
Download the file below for full instructions for the Micrometer experiment.
- Measure the diameter of ten ball bearing samples. Check to see how many you measure correctly and give yourself a mark out of ten. Repeat this until you get 10/10 every time!
- Error analysis:
- Measure and record the diameter of ten or more ball bearing samples.
- Use the width data to calculate the volume of each sphere.
- Determine the absolute uncertainty and percentage uncertainty for each diameter measurement.
- Determine the absolute uncertainty and percentage uncertainty for each volume value.
- Statistical analysis:
- Measure and record the diameter of ten or more ball bearing samples.
- Calculate the mean and standard deviation of the diameter measurements.
- (Advanced experiment) Calculate the standard error of the diameter measurements and from this determine the confidence level of the mean.
