Question

force table! would finer marks along the rim improve the accuracy of the experiment?

Answer 1

also does reading the angle to the nearest degree give a better precision than to 1/2 degree? Do such changes of 1/2 degree noticeably affect the equilibrium position? :(

Answer 2

First of all, make sure that you know the difference between accuracy and precision. Precision is, by definition, how small the decimal places are in your measurement. Common practice in measuring is to estimate the final decimal point, which would be one place value smaller than the smallest tick mark on your device. That's the digit of uncertainty. Yes, finer marks would improve the accuracy, which is closeness to the truth, by giving you better precision. Finer marks allow you to make a much more accurate guess, because the digit of uncertainty decreases by a factor of 10 for every subdivision you add (on a base 10 system of course)