Keywords
measurement error, error analysis, ellipsoid volume, tumor, xenograft
Abstract
It is important for science students to understand not only how to estimate error sizes in measurement data, but also to see how these errors contribute to errors in conclusions they may make about the data. Relatively small errors in measurement, errors in assumptions, and roundoff errors in computation may result in large error bounds on computed quantities of interest. In this column, we look closely at a standard method for measuring the volume of cancer tumor xenografts to see how small errors in each of these three factors may contribute to relatively large observed errors in recorded tumor volumes.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.10.1.11
Recommended Citation
Wallace, Dorothy. "Parts of the Whole: Error Estimation for Science Students." Numeracy 10, Iss. 1 (2017): Article 11. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.10.1.11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
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Medical Education Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons
