Vernier caliper least count

i Physics is a quantitative science, relying on accurate measurements of fundamental properties such as time, length, mass and temperature. To ensure measurements of these properties are accurate and precise, instruments such as meter sticks, Vernier calipers, micrometer calipers, triple-beam balances and laboratory thermometers are often used. It is important to understand how to properly use these devices. With any measurement tool, the student should always try to achieve the greatest accuracy the apparatus will allow. Meter stick. The simplest way to measure length is to use an ordinary meter stick. In the laboratory, our meter sticks are carefully calibrated in centimeters with a millimeter least count. That is, the millimeter is the smallest subdivision on the meter stick, which can be seen in Figure 1. This means the millimeter is the unit of the smallest reading that can be made without estimating. Figure 1. This meter stick is calibrated in centimeters (shown as the numbered major divisions) with a least count of millimeters. Figure 2. An example of a meter stick reading. The object's length is measured to be 41.64 cm. (See text for description.) A measurement reading usually has one more significant figure than the least count reading of the scale. The least count of our laboratory meter sticks is 0.1cm and therefore a reading can be made to 0.01cm. Figure 2 above shows a meter stick being used to measure the length of a plastic strip. The meter stick is calibrat...