Question

Time periods of oscillation of the same simple pendulum measured using four different measuring clocks were recorded as 4.62 s, 4.632 s, 4.6 s and 4.64 s. The arithmetic mean of these reading in correct significant figure is.

• A. 4.623 s
• B. 4.62 s
• C. 4.6 s
• D. 5 s

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

4.6 s

Answer 2

Sum of the numbers, considering the correct significant figures:

$\text{Sum} = 4.6 + 4.6 + 4.632 + 4.64 = 18.4$

The arithmetic mean is:

$\text{Arithmetic Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum}}{\text{Number of Observations}} = \frac{18.4}{4} = 4.6 \, s$

The result is rounded to the correct significant figure.