Astrophysics. Aim: To determine the luminosity of the Sun using calculations.

Calculations:

 =    4. d2. C. m. ∆T

                        r2. ∆t

  =     4 x (2.238 x 1022) x 4200 x (0.937810) x 21.0

                                         0.00276 x 5700

  =    4.707 x 1026 Watts

Uncertainty:

±  = (1 x 10-6) + 1 + 0.002 + 600

            = 601.002001 ≈ ±601

Luminosity of Sun = 4.707 x 1026 ±601 W

Conclusion & Evaluation:

Based on the results and my calculations, the luminosity of the Sun is 4.707 x 1026 ±601 Watts. The accepted value for the luminosity of the Sun is 3.846×1026 W, so, therefore, the value I deduced is 18.3% higher than the accepted value. Although my obtained value may be considered similar enough to the accepted value, my calculated uncertainty does not include the acknowledged value. This means that there must either be an error in the collection of data, or in the interpretation of it.

There were many assumptions made in order to conduct this experiment:

The uncertainties contribute very little to the total calculated value, as it is negligible due to the large values of luminosity; 601 W is only 1.2768 x 10-22 % of 4.707 x 1026 W. Nevertheless, there were still many errors which contributed to the incorrect value calculated:

The error and uncertainty that I obtained for this investigation are both relatively small; therefore I consider my results to be reasonably precise. However, I cannot judge them to be exactly accurate, as the accepted value lies out of the bounds of my calculated value, even with the range of my uncertainties. More precise equipment and timing should be ensured, along with repetitions of the experiment, in order to assume that the value obtained is correct.