Possible Freezing Point Measurement Error

Question

The freezing point of pure water was measured to be 0.18 to 0.20 degrees Celsius, The accepted freezing point of water is 0 degrees Celsius. What possible reasons could be the why I got this error in the lab? Could it be that the sample didn't have a high enough concentration?

Answer 1

Error in the measuring device.

The software that runs the device is splitting decimal points, which rounds to 0.18 to 0.2

 

For example, get your calculator and divide 9/11, which has an exact value

of 0.81818181.... = 0.81  as a repeating decimal.

 

You may notice the last digit is a 2. The reason is because last digit is rounded to 2

because of the 8.