Question

Percentage uncertainty - quick question

Answer 1

We were doing a physics lab, and we are measuring the displacement of water in a beaker when an object is dropped in the beaker.

The formula for uncertainty (%) given is: $$|\frac{\varDelta h}{h * 100}|$$

However, I'm unsure whether or not the h in the denominator is referring to the initial height of the water, or the water height after the object is placed in the beaker.

Can someone provide some insight? I think it's the initial height, but I want to make sure.