Chapter 1: Exercises (1.16 - 1.20)

1.16 A rectangular piece of aluminum is 5.10 $\pm$ 0.01 cm long and 1.90 $\pm$ 0.01 cm wide. a) Find the area of the rectangle and the uncertainty in the area. b) Verify that the fractional uncertainty in the area is equal to the sum o the fractional uncertainties in the length and in the width. (This is a general result; see Challenge Problem 1.94.)

1.17 As you eat your way through a bag of chocolate chip cookies, you observe that each cookie is a circular disk with a diameter of 8.50 $\pm$ 0.02 cm and a thickness of 0.050 $\pm$ 0.005 cm. a) Find the average volume of a cookie and the uncertainty in the volume. b) Find the ratio of the diameter to the thickness and the uncertainty in this ratio.

1.18 How many gallons of gasoline are used in the United Sates in one day?

1.19 A box of typewriter paper has dimensions 11 in. $\times$ 17 in. $\times$ 9 in.; it is marked "10 M." Does that mean it contains 10,000 sheets or 10 million?

1.20 How many kernels of corn does it take to fill a 2-L soft drink bottle?