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Essay / Random and Random Errors in Alka Seltzer Merners
In undertaking the experiment, the hypothesis “if the number of Alka Seltzer tablets react increases, then the maximum reaction speed will increase” was formed. When graphing the relationship between maximum reaction rate and number of Alka Seltzer tablets reacting, Graph 7 produced a line of best fit with a constant increasing slope that passed through the origin (0.0 ). This is characteristic of line graphs, which have the general equation y=mx, where m is the slope, a constant term, and y and x are changing variables that are directly proportional (i.e. y ∝x ). It can therefore be inferred that graph 7 is a line graph and that there is a linear relationship between the maximum reaction speed and the number of Alka Seltzer tablets, where they are directly proportional. That is, as the number of Alka Seltzer tablets increased, the maximum reaction speed increased, supporting the hypothesis. As the actual value of the maximum reaction rate per Alka Seltzer tablet was not known and no comparison values were available, the accuracy of the results could not be determined. However, due to the dispersion of graphs 2 to 7, it was evident that the results were imprecise. In the future, repeating the experiment using a different and/or new device will help detect systematic errors and improve the accuracy and validity of the results..