ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with uncertainty analysis applied to single sample experiments. Planning experiments with uncertainty analysis in mind will focus one’s attention on the quality of their instruments and the care with which they run their experiments. An error has traditionally been classified as “fixed” or “random” depending on how it would behave on repeated trials if a series of measurement were made. The identifying feature of a “fixed error” is that the error is the same each time the same nominal value is observed. A fixed error may be different at different points across the range of the experiment, but if it is repeatable, it is a fixed error. A random error can be expressed as a percentage of full scale or a percentage of reading, or in absolute units.
